Electric field induced second harmonic generation with and without fringes

Electric field induced second harmonic generation (EFISH) is a well-known technique to measure the first hyperpolarizability (β) of organic molecules in solution. The characteristic experimental output is observation of oscillatory fringes of second harmonic radiation as the solution path length is changed and evaluation of β from the fringe amplitude. We present two different cases where even in the absence of these characteristic fringes β may still be evaluated: first, when using absorbing materials, and second, when using broadband laser sources. The ability to determine β by EFISH under these conditions greatly enhances the ability of this technique to measure β values over a wide range of laser frequencies. Measurements of the same molecule’s β values at different frequencies are reported, verifying the two-level model for the dispersion of β.