Efficient second-harmonic generation in single crystals of 2-(N,N-dimethylamino)-5-nitroacetanilide

Measurements of second-harmonic generation (SHG) from powders have indicated that 2-(N, N-dimethylamino)-5-nitroacetanilide (DAN) has a high second-order optical nonlinearity. This has been confirmed by the observation of efficient phase-matched SHG from a DAN single crystal. For 1-mJ pulses at 1.064 μm, a conversion efficiency of 20% has been measured for a crystal 2 mm thick. X-ray crystallographic analysis suggests that this high efficiency derives from a favorable molecular packing.