Optical second harmonic generation imaging for visualizing in-plane electric field distribution.

The electric field distribution in electronic devices, particularly in the organic devices, was visualized by the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging technique on the basis of electric field induced SHG (EFISHG). Two-dimensional SHG images from organic field effect transistor using pentacene were taken with a cooled CCD camera, and the SHG images showed the electric field was successfully visualized with a resolution of 1 mum. The SHG imaging method provides us a novel technique for visualizing the electric field distribution in actual devices under device operation.