Theory of Optical Rectification Effect in Metallic Thin Film with Periodic Modulation

TL;DR

This paper presents a new theoretical framework for understanding optical rectification in periodically modulated metallic films, clarifying its generation mechanism and demonstrating enhancement effects through numerical and experimental validation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel formulation of the optical rectification effect and clarifies its generation mechanism in metallic structures with periodic modulation.

Findings

Optical rectification is significantly enhanced by spatial variation and local electric field effects.

The new theory aligns well with experimental results.

The mechanism of OR generation is clarified, resolving previous controversies.

Abstract

We conducted theoretical and numerical investigations of the optical rectification (OR) effect in metallic structures with periodic modulation. A new formulation of the OR effect is presented, and the mechanism by which the OR effect is generated, which has been a controversial issue in previous studies, is clarified. We reveal that the OR effect is strongly enhanced by a combination of spatial variation of the metallic structure and local electric field enhancement. Our theory was numerically evaluated and agreed fairly well with experiment.