Reversible and Tunable Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Susceptibility in PZT Thin Films for Integrated Optics (Advanced Optical Materials 16/2021)

A laser beam passing through a thin ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) film is transformed into a beam with doubled frequency by means of second harmonic generation. The polarization density of the PZT film and the second-order susceptibility can be controlled and reserved by means of an applied voltage. The thin film exhibits a very strong susceptibility of 128 pm/V, which opens avenues for highly efficient and tunable on-chip nonlinear devices. For further details, see article number 2100149 by Gilles F. Feutmba, Jeroen Beeckman and co-workers.