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Suppression of Multiphoton Fluorescence in Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering

Koen Clays, Tom Munters, Geert Olbrechts, and Andre Persoons, Laboratory of Chemical and Biological Dynamics, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) has become widely accepted as an experimental technique for the determination of the first hyperpolarizability (second-order nonlinear polarizability), β, of molecules in solution. Apart from being simpler both theoretically and experimentally than electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation (EFISHG)—applicable to neutral, dipolar molecules only—HRS is the sole technique that gives a β value for ionic or octopolar species. The combination of HRS and EFISHG also allows different elements of the hyperpolarizability tensor to be analyzed.