Few-atom-thick silver films for enhanced nanoscale nonlinear optics

The inherently weak nonlinear optical response of bulk materials remains a fundamental limitation in advancing photonic technologies. Nanophotonics addresses this challenge by tailoring the size and morphology of nanostructures to manipulate the optical near field, thus modulating the nonlinear response. Here, we explore a complementary strategy based on engineering the electronic band structure in the mesoscopic regime to enhance optical nonlinearities. Specifically, we demonstrate an increase in second-harmonic generation (SHG) from crystalline silver films as their thickness is reduced down to just a few atomic monolayers. Operating at the boundary between bulk and two-dimensional systems, these ultra-thin films exhibit a pronounced enhancement of SHG with decreasing thickness. This enhancement stems from quantum confinement effects that modify the interaction between electronic states and incident light, which we explain based on quantum-mechanical calculation. Our atomically-thin crystalline silver films provide a new means to overcome the small interaction volumes inherent to nanophotonic platforms, enabling efficient nanoscale nonlinear optics with potential applications in photonics, sensing, and quantum technologies.