A study of electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in asymmetrical Gaussian potential quantum wells

Electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in asymmetrical Gaussian potential quantum wells is investigated using the effective mass approximation employing the compact density matrix method and the iterative approach. Our results show that the absolute value, the real part and the imaginary part of second-harmonic generation are greatly affected by the height of the Gaussian potential quantum wells, the range of the Gaussian confinement potential and the applied electric field. The relationship between the absolute value and the imaginary part of second-harmonic generation together with the relationship between the absolute value and the real part of second-harmonic generation is studied. It is found that no matter how the height of the Gaussian potential quantum wells, the range of the Gaussian confinement potential and the applied electric field vary, the resonant peaks of the absolute value of second-harmonic generation do not originate from the imaginary part but from the real part. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved