Recent research activities on the linear magnetoelectric (ME) effect?induction of magnetization by an electric field or of polarization by a magnetic field?are reviewed. Beginning with a brief summary of the history of the ME effect since its prediction in 1894, the paper focuses on the present revival of the effect. Two major sources for 'large' ME effects are identified. (i) In composite materials the ME effect is generated as a product property of a magnetostrictive and a piezoelectric compound. A linear ME polarization is induced by a weak ac magnetic field oscillating in the presence of a strong dc bias field. The ME effect is large if the ME coefficient coupling the magnetic and electric fields is large. Experiments on sintered granular composites and on laminated layers of the constituents as well as theories on the interaction between the constituents are described. In the vicinity of electromechanical resonances a ME voltage coefficient of up to 90?V?cm?1?Oe?1 is achieved, which exceeds the ME response of single-phase compounds by 3?5 orders of magnitude. Microwave devices, sensors, transducers and heterogeneous read/write devices are among the suggested technical implementations of the composite ME effect. (ii) In multiferroics the internal magnetic and/or electric fields are enhanced by the presence of multiple long-range ordering. The ME effect is strong enough to trigger magnetic or electrical phase transitions. ME effects in multiferroics are thus 'large' if the corresponding contribution to the free energy is large. Clamped ME switching of electrical and magnetic domains, ferroelectric reorientation induced by applied magnetic fields and induction of ferromagnetic ordering in applied electric fields were observed. Mechanisms favouring multiferroicity are summarized, and multiferroics in reduced dimensions are discussed. In addition to composites and multiferroics, novel and exotic manifestations of ME behaviour are investigated. This includes (i) optical second harmonic generation as a tool to study magnetic, electrical and ME properties in one setup and with access to domain structures; (ii) ME effects in colossal magnetoresistive manganites, superconductors and phosphates of the LiMPO4 type; (iii) the concept of the toroidal moment as manifestation of a ME dipole moment; (iv) pronounced ME effects in photonic crystals with a possibility of electromagnetic unidirectionality. The review concludes with a summary and an outlook to the future development of magnetoelectrics research.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/38/8/R01/pdf

Revival of the Magnetoelectric Effect

Recent advances in the field of nonlinear optical phenomena are reviewed with particular empphasis placed on such topics as parametric oscillation self-focusing and trapping of laser beams, and stimulated Raman, Rayleigh, and Brillouin scattering. The optical frequency radiation is treated classically in terms of the amplitudes and phases of the electromagnetic fields. The interactions of light waves in a mterial are then formulated in terms of Maxwell's equations and the electric dipole approximation. In this method, non-linear susceptibility tensors are introdueed which relate the induced dipole moment to a power series expansion in field strengths. The tensor nature and the frequency dependence of the nonlinearity coefficients are considered. The various experimental, observations are described and interpreted in terms of this formalism.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/5/31089/01447053.pdf

Nonlinear optics

A theoretical study is presented on the optimization of second harmonic generation (SHG) and parametric generation (PG) by a laser beam in a uniaxial nonlinear crystal. Numerically computed curves show the dependence of the SHG power, and the reciprocal of the PG threshold power, on the parameter l/b, where l is the optical path length in the crystal and b is the confocal parameter (determined by the focal length of the focusing lens and the minimum radius of the laser beam, assumed to be in the TEM00 mode of an optical resonator). The calculations take full account of diffraction and double refraction. In the absence of double refraction, the optimum focusing condition is found to be l/b=2.84. For PG the optimization of the crystal length l is also discussed, and curves are given showing the dependence of the threshold on l for the case in which signal and idler have the same losses. It is shown that the computed functions are also relevant to the mixing of two Gaussian beams and to parametric amplificat...

Parametric Interaction of Focused Gaussian Light Beams

Photon upconversion is promising for applications such as biological imaging, data storage or solar cells. Here, we have investigated upconversion processes in a broad range of gadolinium-based nanoparticles of varying composition. We show that by rational design of a core-shell structure with a set of lanthanide ions incorporated into separated layers at precisely defined concentrations, efficient upconversion emission can be realized through gadolinium sublattice-mediated energy migration for a wide range of lanthanide activators without long-lived intermediary energy states. Furthermore, the use of the core-shell structure allows the elimination of deleterious cross-relaxation. This effect enables fine-tuning of upconversion emission through trapping of the migrating energy by the activators. Indeed, the findings described here suggest a general approach to constructing a new class of luminescent materials with tunable upconversion emissions by controlled manipulation of energy transfer within a nanoscopic region.

Tuning upconversion through energy migration in core–shell nanoparticles

The advent of ultraintense laser pulses generated by the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) along with the development of high-fluence laser materials has opened up an entirely new field of optics. The electromagnetic field intensities produced by these techniques, in excess of ${10}^{18}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{W}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, lead to relativistic electron motion in the laser field. The CPA method is reviewed and the future growth of laser technique is discussed, including the prospect of generating the ultimate power of a zettawatt. A number of consequences of relativistic-strength optical fields are surveyed. In contrast to the nonrelativistic regime, these laser fields are capable of moving matter more effectively, including motion in the direction of laser propagation. One of the consequences of this is wakefield generation, a relativistic version of optical rectification, in which longitudinal field effects could be as large as the transverse ones. In addition to this, other effects may occur, including relativistic focusing, relativistic transparency, nonlinear modulation and multiple harmonic generation, and strong coupling to matter and other fields (such as high-frequency radiation). A proper utilization of these phenomena and effects leads to the new technology of relativistic engineering, in which light-matter interactions in the relativistic regime drives the development of laser-driven accelerator science. A number of significant applications are reviewed, including the fast ignition of an inertially confined fusion target by short-pulsed laser energy and potential sources of energetic particles (electrons, protons, other ions, positrons, pions, etc.). The coupling of an intense laser field to matter also has implications for the study of the highest energies in astrophysics, such as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, with energies in excess of ${10}^{20}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. The laser fields can be so intense as to make the accelerating field large enough for general relativistic effects (via the equivalence principle) to be examined in the laboratory. It will also enable one to access the nonlinear regime of quantum electrodynamics, where the effects of radiative damping are no longer negligible. Furthermore, when the fields are close to the Schwinger value, the vacuum can behave like a nonlinear medium in much the same way as ordinary dielectric matter expanded to laser radiation in the early days of laser research.

/pdf/optics-in-the-relativistic-regime-4n43x5jaaf.pdf

C. W. Peters

Papers

Generation of Optical Harmonics

Generation of optical harmonics