High-Order Harmonic Generation in Organic Molecular Crystals

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Wiechmann, Falk-Erik, Schöpa, Samuel, Bielke, Lina, Rindelhardt, Svenja, Patchkovskii, Serguei, Morales, Felipe, Richter, Maria, Bauer, Dieter, Fennel, Franziska
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Wiechmann, Falk-Erik
Schöpa, Samuel
Bielke, Lina
Rindelhardt, Svenja
Patchkovskii, Serguei
Morales, Felipe
Richter, Maria
Bauer, Dieter
Fennel, Franziska
author_facet Wiechmann, Falk-Erik
Schöpa, Samuel
Bielke, Lina
Rindelhardt, Svenja
Patchkovskii, Serguei
Morales, Felipe
Richter, Maria
Bauer, Dieter
Fennel, Franziska
contents High-order harmonic generation (HHG) is a powerful tool for probing electronic structure and ultrafast dynamics in matter. Traditionally studied in atomic and molecular gases, HHG has recently been extended to condensed matter, enabling all-optical investigations of electronic and crystal structures. Here, we experimentally demonstrate HHG in a new class of materials: thin organic molecular crystals with perfectly aligned molecules, using pentacene as a model system. Organic molecular crystals, characterized by weak intermolecular coupling, flat electronic bands, and large unit cells, differ fundamentally from conventional covalent or ionic crystals and have attracted significant interest as promising candidates for organic electronics. We show that pentacene crystals endure laser intensities sufficient for efficient HHG up to the 17th order. The harmonic yield as a function of laser polarization reveals a strong dependence on intermolecular interactions, with higher harmonic orders particularly sensitive to both nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor couplings. Model calculations indicate that weaker intermolecular interactions necessitate probing with higher harmonic orders to resolve the crystal structure. These findings suggest that HHG may serve as a powerful tool for probing the electronic structure of organic molecular crystals, enhancing all-optical techniques for studying electronic properties and ultrafast dynamics in complex organic materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_02432
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-Order Harmonic Generation in Organic Molecular Crystals
Wiechmann, Falk-Erik
Schöpa, Samuel
Bielke, Lina
Rindelhardt, Svenja
Patchkovskii, Serguei
Morales, Felipe
Richter, Maria
Bauer, Dieter
Fennel, Franziska
Optics
High-order harmonic generation (HHG) is a powerful tool for probing electronic structure and ultrafast dynamics in matter. Traditionally studied in atomic and molecular gases, HHG has recently been extended to condensed matter, enabling all-optical investigations of electronic and crystal structures. Here, we experimentally demonstrate HHG in a new class of materials: thin organic molecular crystals with perfectly aligned molecules, using pentacene as a model system. Organic molecular crystals, characterized by weak intermolecular coupling, flat electronic bands, and large unit cells, differ fundamentally from conventional covalent or ionic crystals and have attracted significant interest as promising candidates for organic electronics. We show that pentacene crystals endure laser intensities sufficient for efficient HHG up to the 17th order. The harmonic yield as a function of laser polarization reveals a strong dependence on intermolecular interactions, with higher harmonic orders particularly sensitive to both nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor couplings. Model calculations indicate that weaker intermolecular interactions necessitate probing with higher harmonic orders to resolve the crystal structure. These findings suggest that HHG may serve as a powerful tool for probing the electronic structure of organic molecular crystals, enhancing all-optical techniques for studying electronic properties and ultrafast dynamics in complex organic materials.
title High-Order Harmonic Generation in Organic Molecular Crystals
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.02432