Enhancement of Second Harmonic Generation in Monolayer WS2 by Feedback-Based Wavefront Shaping

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel feedback-based wavefront shaping technique to significantly enhance second harmonic generation in monolayer WS2, enabling dynamic control and improved efficiency in nanoscale photonic applications.

Contribution

First experimental application of feedback-based wavefront shaping to enhance nonlinear responses in atomically thin TMD materials.

Findings

SH generation enhanced up to 41 times with phase-only modulation

Localized high-intensity regions increase SH output

SH observed at grain boundaries through phase manipulation

Abstract

Two-dimensional Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs) are of great interest for second harmonic (SH) generation due to their large second-order susceptibility, atomically thin structure, and relaxed phase-matching conditions. TMDs are also promising candidates for miniaturizing nonlinear optical devices due to their versatile applications in photon manipulation, quantum emission and sensing, and nanophotonic circuits. However, their strong SH response is limited by nanometer-scale light-matter interaction and material impurities. Although there is considerable work towards engineering TMDs for enhancing their nonlinear responses, all-optical methods are still in the exploration stages. In this work, we incorporate, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental demonstrations of feedback-based wavefront shaping (WFS) techniques in atomically thin media to reveal and enhance the weak SH generation of monolayer WS2. Phase tuning of the incident wavefront leads to localized regions of high-intensity fundamental light, increasing the intensity of SH generation by up to an order of magnitude in targeted regions. We enhance the local conversion efficiencies from monolayer WS2 up to 41 times from phase-only modulation. Furthermore, by introducing a shift in the transverse phase structure, we generate observable SH generation at the destructively interfering grain boundaries of polycrystalline monolayers. This method allows for all-optical tuning of TMDs nonlinear responses, opening up possibilities for dynamic signal routing and on-demand enhancement in nanoscale photonic systems.