High-harmonic generation from artificially stacked 2D crystals

Abstract: We report a coherent layer-by-layer high-order harmonic generation (HHG) build-up in artificially stacked transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) crystals in their various stacking configurations. In the experiments, millimeter-sized single crystalline monolayers are synthesized using the gold foil-exfoliation method, followed by artificially stacking on a transparent substrate. High-order harmonics up to the 19th order are generated by the interaction with an ultrafast mid-infrared (MIR) driving laser. We find that the generation is sensitive to the number of layers and their relative orientation. For AAAA stacking configuration, both odd- and even-orders exhibit a quadratic increase in intensity as a function of the number of layers, which is a signature of constructive interference of high-harmonic emission from successive layers. Particularly, we observe some deviations from this scaling at photon energies above the bandgap, which is explained by self-absorption effects. For AB and ABAB stacking, even-order harmonics remain below the detection level, consistent with the presence of inversion symmetry. Our study confirms the capability of producing non-perturbative high-order harmonics from stacked layered materials subjected to intense MIR fields without damaging samples. It has implications for optimizing solid-state HHG sources at the nano-scale and developing high-harmonics as an ultrafast probe of artificially stacked layered materials. Because the HHG process is a strong-field driven process, it has the potential to probe high-momentum and energy states in the bandstructure combined with atomic-scale sensitivity in real space, making it an attractive probe of novel material structures such as the Moir\'e pattern.