Abstract

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) from solution, i.e., incoherent second-harmonic light scattered from isotropic solutions illuminated by intense laser pulses, has recently been developed as a technique for the accurate determination of first optical molecular hyperpolarizabilities β,^1,2 The HRS technique has many advantages over the well-established electric-Reld-induced sec- on d-harmonic-generation (EFISHG) method, in which the intrinsic centrosymmetry of an isotropic solution of chromophores with (large) nonlinear optical properties (NLO-phores) is removed by the application of a static electric field to allow for second-harmonic generation, The most obvious advantage is the absence of the (intense) orienting electric field, making the hyperpolarizabilities of ionic species experimentally accessible.

© 1993 Optical Society of America