Strong nonlinear optical response of graphene flakes measured by four-wave mixing

Abstract

We present the first experimental investigation of nonlinear optical properties of graphene flakes. We find that at near infrared frequencies a graphene monolayer exhibits a remarkably high third-order optical nonlinearity which is practically independent of the wavelengths of incident light. The nonlinear optical response can be utilized for imaging purposes, with image contrasts of graphene which are orders of magnitude higher than those obtained using linear microscopy.