Specific features of nonlinear optical properties of Eu3+ doped BiFeO3 nanopowders near antiferromagnetic transition

•The photoinduced optical second harmonic generation for the Eu3+ doped BiFeO3 nanopowders which use two bicolor coherent laser beams incident under different angles gives some enhancement of the SHG.•The photoinduced SHG may be used as sensitive tools for detection of multiferroelectricity.•The nonlinear optical scattering processes play here principal role.

The monitoring of the Eu3+ doped BiFeO3 nanopowders was performed near the antiferromagnetic transformation by photoinduced optical second harmonic generation. As photoinduced laser beams we have used bicolor coherent excitations of the Er:glass laser emitting at 1540 nm with frequency repetition about 15 ns. The studies of the photoinduced SHG were performed versus temperature including the temperature range of ferromagnetic–ferroelectric transition (350 °C…390 °C). The optimal light polarization and intensity ratio were chosen; the sensitivity of the photoinduced SHG to the multiferroic phase transitions was explored.