Nonlinear optical and structural properties of tungsten-doped, amorpho
us-carbon films were studied with optical second harmonic generation (
SHG), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and atomic-force microscopy
(AFM) in a wide range of tungsten concentrations. The dependence of S
HG intensity on the film resistivity R reveals a sharp increase of mor
e than an order of magnitude at R less than or similar to 3x10(-4) Ome
ga cm. This increase in nonlinear susceptibility can be attributed to
an insulator-to-metal phase transition and the appearance of metallic
conductivity in highly doped films. A violation of the polarization se
lection rules for reflected SHG was observed. The isotropic s-polarize
d SHG is coming from nm-scale roughness of the film surface, which is
consistent with the results of STM/AFM measurements. (C) 1997 Elsevier
Science S.A.