Angle-Resolved Second-Harmonic Light Scattering from Colloidal Particles

Abstract

We report angle-resolved second-harmonic generation (SHG) measurements from suspensions of centrosymmetric micron-size polystyrene spheres with surface-adsorbed dye (malachite green). The second-harmonic scattering profiles differ qualitatively from linear light scattering profiles of the same particles. We investigated these radiation patterns using several polarization configurations and particle diameters. We introduce a simple Rayleigh-Gans-Debye model to account for the SHG scattering anisotropy. The model compares favorably with our experimental data. Our measurements suggest scattering anisotropy may be used to isolate particle nonlinear optics from other bulk nonlinear optical effects in suspension.