Abstract

Clathrate compounds are ideal systems for the study of quantum confined atoms and molecules. Experimental and theoretical studies of β-quinol clathrates with a variety of guest atoms and molecules have been performed. A harmonic potential with quartic perturbation has been used to model the β-quinol cage seen by the guest atom or molecule to explain comparable far-infrared transition probabilities from quantized states of the clathrate cage for noble gas atoms and simple homonuclear and heteronuclear diatomics.¹ Predictions of overtone absorption cross section and third-order nonlinear susceptibilities have been made based on this model. Experiments were aimed at determining overtone cross sections and third harmonic generation susceptibilities. The overtone and fundamental excitation of N₂ and Xe clathrates were studied using a cw CH₂F₂ laser at 184.6 μm and several CO₂ TEA laser-pumped superfluorescent emissions of NH₃ and D₂O. In addition, third harmonic generation was studied in Xe clathrates using MW/cm² sources as the fundamentals just below the n= 0 → 1 transition at 43.5 cm⁻¹.

© 1988 Optical Society of America