Speaker
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD)?
PhD
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)
Optical second harmonic (SH) generation is a versatile tool to investigate charge separation processes at buried interfaces of centrosymmetric systems. Using femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm, 80 fs, 80 MHz), we perform a simultaneous measurement of the electric field induced second harmonic (EFISH) in transmission and in reflection at the silicon/silicon dioxide (Si/SiO2) interface from a thin silicon membrane (~10 μm). Experimental results will be presented and discussed. We find that, in the case of reflection, the SH signal increases quadratically with incident intensity, as could be expected, and eventually saturates. However in the case of transmission, the SH signal also initially increases quadratically, reaching a maximum before decreasing with even higher input intensities. Possible explanations are presented briefly and planned future work suggested.
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
yes
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
Yes
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Erich Rohwer (egr@sun.ac.za), Laser Research Institute, University of Stellenbosch
