Second harmonic generation as a probe of broken mirror symmetry
Author(s)
Fichera, Bryan T.; Kogar, Anshul; Ye, Linda; Gokce, Bilal; Zong, A; Checkelsky, Joseph; Gedik, Nuh; ... Show more Show less
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The notion of spontaneous symmetry breaking has been used to describe phase transitions in a variety of physical systems. In crystalline solids, the breaking of certain symmetries, such as mirror symmetry, is difficult to detect unambiguously. Using 1T-TaS2, we demonstrate here that rotational-anisotropy second harmonic generation (RA-SHG) is not only a sensitive technique for the detection of broken mirror symmetry, but also that it can differentiate between mirror symmetry-broken structures of opposite planar chirality. We also show that our analysis is applicable to a wide class of different materials with mirror symmetry-breaking transitions. Lastly, we find evidence for bulk mirror symmetry-breaking in the incommensurate charge density wave phase of 1T-TaS2. Our results pave the way for RA-SHG to probe candidate materials where broken mirror symmetry may play a pivotal role.
Date issued
2020-06Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of PhysicsJournal
Physical Review B
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Citation
Fichera, Bryan T. et al. "Second harmonic generation as a probe of broken mirror symmetry." Physical Review B 101, 24 (June 2020): 241106(R) © 2020 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2469-9969
2469-9950