QUANTUM INTERFERENCE EFFECTS IN THE OPTICAL 2ND-HARMONIC RESPONSE TENSOR OF A METAL-SURFACE

To improve the qualitative understanding of the optical second-harmonic response from a metal surface, quantum interference effects at the surface barrier are investigated theoretically within the framework of the jellium approach. Using the well-known infinite barrier model a detailed description of so-called classical and non-classical interference processes is given. The quantum mechanical foundation for the semiclassical and classical infinite barrier models often used in second-harmonic generation studies on metals is established. © 1990.