Optical rectification in surface layers of germanium

In this Letter, we have demonstrated significant electric field induced (EFI) optical rectification (OR) effects existing in the surface layers of germanium (Ge) and measured the distributions of EFI OR signals along the normal directions of surface layers of Ge samples. Based on the experimental results, the ratios of the two effective second-order susceptibility components χzzz(2eff)/χzxx(2eff) for Ge(001), Ge(110), and Ge(111) surface layers can be estimated to be about 0.92, 0.91, and 1.07, respectively. The results indicate that the EFI OR can be used for analyzing the properties on surface layers of Ge, which has potential applications in Ge photonics and optoelectronics.