Second-harmonic generation at the surface of cubic ionic crystals

The strength of the different source terms in the isotropic Second Harmonic (SH) response of the surface has been measured in different ionic crystals LiF, NaF, GGG(Gadolinium-Gallium-Garnet), and MgF₂, using as excitation beam the fundamental output of a Nd:YAG laser (1.06 m). The azimuthal dependences of the optical second-harmonic generation has also been measured at the LiF(100), LiF(111), GGG(100), and GGG(111) surfaces. No experimental evidence of a bulk contribution to the anisotropic part of the nonlineau polarization has been observed.