Nonlinear optical properties of chiral polymers

The efficiency of second-harmonic generation from chiral surfaces is different for fundamental beams that are left- and right-hand circularly polarized or that have two appropriately chosen linear polarizations. These effects can occur within the electric-dipole approximation. However, for the case of thin films of chiral polymers, we provide evidence of magnetic-dipole contributions to this form of nonlinear optical activity.