Interference effect of second harmonic generation in subwavelength two-dimensional materials
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Updated: Jan 17, 2026

Harmonic Nanoparticles for Regenerative Research
Published on: May 1, 2014
Abstract:
For two-dimensional (2D) layered van der Waals (vdW) materials with sub-wavelength thickness, the second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal is not only determined by the intrinsic second-order susceptibility, but is also significantly affected by the thickness of the material and the choice of substrate, owing to optical interference effects. It is crucial to decouple these interference effects to identify the intrinsic second-order susceptibility of 2D materials or to optimize the interference effects to enhance SHG from the materials. We developed a theoretical model to calculate the SHG intensity of CuInP2S6 (CIPS) with different thicknesses on various substrates. The model successfully reproduced our experimental SHG data for CIPS with varying thicknesses on SiO2/Si substrates. This model can be easily adapted to other substrate-material combinations. These findings provide a theoretical framework to decouple the intrinsic second-order susceptibility of 2D materials from the optical interference effect and aid in the design of highly efficient second-harmonic generators.
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