Giant anisotropy of second harmonic generation for a single ZnSe nanowire

Abstract

The effect of second harmonic generation was experimentally investigated in ZnSe nanowires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid method. The effect dramatically depended on the angle between the nanowire axis and the linear polarization of the excitation light. The magnitude of the effect was 20 times stronger for the parallel polarization in comparison with the perpendicular one. The results were theoretically explained in terms of a large difference in dielectric constants between the nanowire and the environment, resulting in a strong orientation-dependent optical electric field in the nanowire.