Enhanced nonlinear response from metal surfaces

While metals benefit from a strong nonlinearity at optical frequencies, its practical exploitation is limited by the weak penetration of the electric field within the metal and the screening by the surface charges. It is shown here that this limitation can be bypassed by depositing a thin dielectric layer on the metal surface or, alternatively, using a thin metal film. This strategy enables us to enhance four-wave mixing in metals by up to four orders of magnitude. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America