Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy of Mixed-Valent Materials

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9973343CundiffThis project will search for second order optical nonlinear generation in mixed valent materials at terahertz frequencies. In mixed valent materials, there is an energetic overlap between f electron states and the d electrons in the conduction band. The results of this project will provide new fundamental insight into the presence of ground state coherence between the f and d states. The presence of such coherence results in a breaking of the crystalline inversion symmetry, which makes second harmonic generation allowed. The coherence will also mean that these materials form a new class of electronic ferroelectrics. Because the bandgap in these materials amounts to only 10 meV, it is resonant with very far infrared light. To generate sufficiently intense pulses at these wavelengths, we will use the process known as terahertz generation that is based on amplified ultrashort visible pulses. The results of this project will provide important feedback to the theory, which is related to a wide range of materials that display electronic correlation.%%%This project will search for second order optical nonlinear generation in mixed valent materials at terahertz frequencies. The results of this project will provide important feedback to the theory, which is related to a wide range of materials that display electronic correlation. This research merges condensed matter with quantum optics, thereby providing graduate students with broad training in both areas.***