Nanoscale force sensing of an ultrafast nonlinear optical response.

ABSTRACT: The nonlinear optical response of a material is a sensitive probe of electronic and structural dynamics under strong light fields. The induced microscopic polarizations are usually detected via their far-field light emission, thus limiting spatial resolution. Several powerful near-field techniques circumvent this limitation by employing local nanoscale scatterers; however, their signal strength scales unfavorably as the probe volume decreases. Here, we demonstrate that time-resolved atomic force microscopy is capable of temporally and spatially resolving the microscopic, electrostatic forces arising from a nonlinear optical polarization in an insulating dielectric driven by femtosecond optical fields. The measured forces can be qualitatively explained by a second-order nonlinear interactio

SUBMITTER: Schumacher Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7443965 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature