Optical permittivity electric field effects

Many of the different susceptibilities in Equations (2.165)-(2.167) correspond to important experiments in linear and nonlinear optics. x<(>> describes a possible zero-order (permanent) polarization of the medium j(1)(0 0) is the first-order static susceptibility which is related to the permittivity at zero frequency, e(0), while ft> o>) is the linear optical susceptibility related to the refractive index n" at frequency to. Turning to nonlinear effects, the Pockels susceptibility j(2)(- to, 0) and the Kerr susceptibility X(3 —to to, 0,0) describe the change of the refractive index induced by an externally applied static field. The susceptibility j(2)(—2to to, to) describes frequency doubling usually called second harmonic generation (SHG) and j(3)(-2 to, to, 0) describes the influence of an external field on the SHG process which is of great importance for the characterization of second-order NLO properties in solution in electric field second harmonic generation (EFISHG). 

However, the linear response of a dielectric to an applied field is an approximation the actual response is non-linear and is of the form indicated in Fig. 8.6. The electro-optic effect has its origins in this non-linearity, and the very large electric fields associated with high-intensity laser light lead to the non-linear optics technology discussed briefly in Section 8.1.4. Clearly the permittivity measured for small increments in field depends on the biasing field E0, from which it follows that the refractive index also depends on E0. The dependence can be expressed by the following polynomial ... 

One may also use the MSA model to describe the permittivity of the system at optical frequencies. Under these circumstances the system responds to the electrical field only through electronic polarization, the orientational component being frozen. The directional stickiness of the dipoles is then unimportant so that to is effectively zero at very high frequencies. Under these circumstances, the polarization parameter is given by... 

The MO measurements provide information about the angular distribution of molecules in the x, y, and z film coordinates. To extract MO data from IR spectra, the general selection rule equation (1.27) is invoked, which states that the absorption of linearly polarized radiation depends upon the orientation of the TDM of the given mode relative to the local electric field vector. If the TDM vector is distributed anisotropically in the sample, the macroscopic result is selective absorption of linearly polarized radiation propagating in different directions, as described by an anisotropic permittivity tensor e. Thus, it is the anisotropic optical constants of the ultrathin film (or their ratios) that are measured and then correlated with the MO parameters. Unlike for thick samples, this problem is complicated by optical effects in the IR spectra of ultrathin films, so that optical theory (Sections 1.5-1.7) must be considered, in addition to the statistical formulas that establish the connection between the principal values of the permittivity tensor s and the MO parameters. In fact, a thorough study of the MO in ultrathin films requires judicious selection not only of the theoretical model for extracting MO data from the IR spectra (this section) but also of the optimum experimental technique and conditions [angle(s) of incidence] for these measurements (Section 3.11.5). 

If a nematic liquid crystal has negligible conductivity the results of Sections 11.2.1-11.2.5 for the Frederiks transition induced by a magnetic field may be directly applied to the electric field case. To this effect, it suffices to substitute H by E and all components of magnetic susceptibility tensor Xij hy correspondent components of dielectric permittivity tensor s,y. From the practical point of view the electrooptical effects are much more important and further on we discuss the optical response of nematics to the electric field. 

An Outline of Non-linear Effects in Dielectrics. Constitutive Relations in Linear Media. We shall be considering homogeneous and isotropic dielectrics, the electric, magnetic, and optical properties of which, in the absence of external fields, are described by the following three scalar quantities, characteristic of the material of which the medium consists e = electric permittivity /X = magnetic permeability n = refractive index. 

---