Vibrational spectroscopy of interfaces by infrared-visible sum frequency generation

During the past decade vibrational sum frequency generation as a method to study interfaces has matured and can now be applied more routinely to systems of increasing complexity. The article provides a brief overview of technical aspects of infrared-visible sum frequency generation, compares this nonlinear technique with its linear analogs, and highlights the latest applications. (C) 2001 American Vacuum Society.