Automated polarization rotation for multi-axis rotational-anisotropy second harmonic generation experiments
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043002_1_5.0233827.pdf
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Published version
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4.48 MB
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Author(s)
Morey, Karna A
Fichera, Bryan T
Lv, Baiqing
Shen, Zongqi
Gedik, Nuh
Date Issued
April 4, 2025
Journal
Review of Scientific Instruments
Publisher
AIP Publishing
Citation
Karna A. Morey, Bryan T. Fichera, Baiqing Lv, Zongqi Shen, Nuh Gedik; Automated polarization rotation for multi-axis rotational-anisotropy second harmonic generation experiments. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 April 2025; 96 (4): 043002.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Rotational anisotropy second harmonic generation (RA-SHG) is a nonlinear optical technique used to probe the symmetry of condensed matter systems. Measuring the dependence of the SHG susceptibility on one or more external parameters, notably strain, field, temperature, or time delay, is an extremely powerful way to probe complex phases of quantum materials. Experimentally, extracting maximal information about the SHG susceptibility tensor requires measurements of S and P polarized input and output combinations, which naturally involves the rotation of the polarizers during data collection. For multi-axis experiments, this has proved challenging since polarization rotation is typically done manually. Automating this process eliminates labor constraints, reduces uncertainty due to low-frequency noise, and expands the type of multi-axis datasets that can be collected; however, it is difficult due to geometrical constraints within the setup. In this work, we design and implement low-cost, high-fidelity automated polarization rotators for use in multi-axis RA-SHG. These polarization rotators utilize an electrical slip ring to transfer power to the rotating RA-SHG optical setup as well as a miniature stepper motor to perform the polarization rotation. We demonstrate this automated system in time-resolved RA-SHG measurements in the non-centrosymmetric semiconductor GaAs. For the multi-axis measurements described above, this automated system permits data averaging over longer periods, vastly expedites data collection, and expands the setup measurement capability. This ultimately opens new frontiers in probing quantum materials using multiple tunable external parameters.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0233827
