Properties of terahertz wave generated by the metallic carbon nanotube antenna

The properties of terahertz (THz) radiation pulses emitted by a metallic, large aspect ratio carbon nanotube antenna have been studied both in the THz waveforms and field distribution. The peak THz field up to 2.66 and 1.26 kV/cm are observed at the probe points. The proposed antenna is designed to operate for dual frequency applications from 2.36 to 2.58 THz and from 7.27 to 7.5 THz for less than -10 dB return loss.     

All-optical ultrafast polarization switching of terahertz radiation by impulsive molecular alignment

We experimentally demonstrate ultrafast polarization switching of terahertz (THz) radiation generated by dual-color driving pulses composed of orthogonally polarized fundamental and second-harmonic waves, which can be controlled by field-free molecular alignment in air by modulating the relative phase between the two field components as a transient dynamic wave plate. By fine-tuning the time delay to properly match the molecular alignment revivals, a significant polarization modulation of the THz radiation is observed and both linearly and elliptically polarized THz radiations can be obtained.     

Enhanced second-harmonic generation from planar photonic crystals

Strongly enhanced second-harmonic generation is observed from a two-dimensional square lattice GaAs/AlGaAs photonic crystal waveguide when the fundamental beam, the second-harmonic beam, or both beams resonantly couple to a leaky eigenmode. P-polarized second-harmonic spectra are obtained for s-polarized, 150-fs pump pulses that are tuned from 5000 to 5600 cm(-1) and directed along the gamma-chi direction of the crystal for various angles of incidence. Compared with off-resonant conditions, enhancements of >1200x in the second-harmonic conversion are observed for resonant coupling of both the fundamental and the second-harmonic fields to leaky eigenmnodes. The angular and spectral positions of the peaks are in good agreement with simulations.     

Generation of ultrabroadband terahertz radiation under optical breakdown of air by two femtosecond pulses of different frequencies

Experimental results on the generation of terahertz (THz) electromagnetic radiation under ionization of air by femtosecond pulses at fundamental and second-harmonic frequencies of a Ti-sapphire laser are presented. The mean power of the generated THz radiation as a function of the time delay between two pulses of different frequencies is found to be quasi-periodical. Theoretically, we show that efficient generation of THz radiation is governed by the inertial part of the nonlinear response of the medium, which is determined by the dynamics of population of highly excited states with subsequent emission of electrons.     

High-average-power femtosecond pulse generation in the blue using BiB3O6

Efficient generation of tunable femtosecond pulses in the blue is reported in the nonlinear crystal BiB3O6. By use of fundamental pulses from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser at 76 MHz, single-pass second-harmonic average powers of as much as 830 mW have been generated at 50% conversion efficiency, and a tunable range of 375-435 nm in the blue is demonstrated. Temporal measurements using cross correlation of the fundamental and second-harmonic pulses in a 100-microm-thick beta-BaB2O4 crystal result in blue pulse durations of 220 fs for 130-fs fundamental pulses. Direct experimental comparison with beta-BaB2O4 confirms the superior performance BiB3O6 for second-harmonic generation of femtosecond pulses.     

Single-shot spatiotemporal measurements of high-field terahertz pulses

The electric field profiles of broad-bandwidth coherent terahertz (THz) pulses, emitted by laser-wakefield-accelerated electron bunches, are studied. The near-single-cycle THz pulses are measured with two single-shot techniques in the temporal and spatial domains. Spectra of 0-6 THz and peak fields up to approximately or = 0.4 MV cm(-1) are observed. The measured field substructure demonstrates the manifestation of spatiotemporal coupling at focus, which affects the interpretation of THz radiation as a bunch diagnostic and in high-field pump-probe experiments.     

Study of terahertz radiation generated by optical rectification on thin gold films

Emission of terahertz (THz) radiation as a result of optical rectification of intense femtosecond laser pulses on thin gold films has been studied by time-domain THz spectroscopy. The THz amplitude was measured as a function of film thickness and incidence angle. The experiments reveal that the emitted THz field is suppressed for a thickness below 100 nm, which gives evidence of the nonlocal character of the response. The variation of incidence angle allows us to estimate the components of susceptibility tensor chi2ijk. For thicker films and near grazing incidence, the emitted THz field attains a peak value of 4 kV/cm.     

Generation of sub-6-fs blue pulses by frequency doubling with quasi-phase-matching gratings

We demonstrate the generation of sub-6-fs pulses centered at 405 nm by frequency doubling of 8.6-fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses. The frequency doubling is carried out in a nonlinearly chirped quasi-phase-matching grating fabricated in a lithium tantalate substrate. This device simultaneously provides frequency conversion and pulse compression of the positively prechirped fundamental pulses. The second-harmonic pulses are characterized in a cross-correlation setup, and their pulse shapes are retrieved by two iterative phase-reconstruction algorithms. The generated second-harmonic spectrum spans a bandwidth of 220 THz. To our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses ever generated in the blue spectral region.     

990 mW average power, 52% efficient, high-repetition-rate picosecond-pulse generation in the blue with BiB3O6

Efficient single-pass second-harmonic generation (SHG) of tunable high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses into the blue is reported in the nonlinear crystal BiB3O6. Using 2.4 ps fundamental pulses from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser at 76 MHz and a 10 mm crystal cut for type I (e + e --> o) phase matching in the optical yz plane, second-harmonic average powers as high as 990 mW with excellent stability have been generated at 52% conversion efficiency, and a tunable range of 370-450 nm is demonstrated. From measurements of single-pass SHG in the continuous-wave regime an effective nonlinear coefficient of 3.7 pm/V has been verified for BiB3O6, and direct comparison with beta-BaB2O4 confirms a SHG power enhancement of approximately 23% for the same crystal length. Autocorrelation measurements in a 200 microm crystal of beta-BaB2O4 result in durations of 2.8 ps for the second-harmonic blue pulses.     

Quantum-noise measurements in high-efficiency single-pass second-harmonic generation with femtosecond pulses

The quantum-noise properties of single-pass second-harmonic blue-light generation with femtosecond pulses have been measured. A conversion efficiency of as much as 63.5% of second-harmonic generation at 428.8 nm was observed in a KNbO(3) crystal with femtosecond (130-fs) pulses with wavelengths centered at 857.6 nm. The quantum noise on the generated blue light was measured to be 1.0 dB (1.4 dB of squeezing inferred) below the shot-noise limit. The noise reduction was found to be sensitive to the average power and the center wavelength of the input fundamental pulses under the condition of strong pump depletion.     

Parametric oscillation of high-power 3-THz pulse by synchronously pumped ZnGeP<Subscript>2</Subscript> crystal: Computer simulation

Possible parametric oscillation of 3-THz pulse at synchronous pumping of the ZnGeP₂ crystal by a train of short second-harmonic pulses from the CO₂ laser has been analyzed. Calculation shows that at changing laser pulse duration τ between 4 and 500 ps and correspondingly pumping energy density (0.5–3.5 J cm⁻²) THz pulse peak power varies from 3 to 70MW with maximum at τ =9 ps.     

Single-frequency terahertz source pumped by Q-switched fiber lasers based on difference-frequency generation in GaSe crystal

We demonstrate a unique terahertz (THz) source that is compact, utilizes recently developed all-fiber Q-switched lasers, and is based on difference-frequency generation in a GaSe crystal. A single piezo simultaneously Q switched the two fiber lasers by using stress-induced birefringence, to achieve the temporal overlap of pulses from the two fiber lasers. These correlated pulses then combine in the GaSe crystal to produce coherent and highly monochromatic THz pulses. The peak power for this THz source can reach 0.53 mW, corresponding to an average power of 0.43 microW and a conversion efficiency of 4.75 x 10(-7). The estimated linewidth of this THz source can be as narrow as approximately 35 MHz or 1.17 x 10(-3) cm(-1).     

Detection of broadband terahertz waves with a laser-induced plasma in gases

We report the experimental results and theoretical analysis of broadband detection of terahertz (THz) waves via electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in laser-induced air plasma with ultrashort laser pulses. By introducing the second-harmonic component of the white light in the laser-induced plasma as a local oscillator, coherent detection of broadband THz waves with ambient air is demonstrated for the first time. Our results show that, depending on the probe intensity, detection of THz waves in air can be categorized as incoherent, hybrid, and coherent detection. Coherent detection is achieved only when the tunnel ionization process dominates in gases.     

Generation of single-cycle THz transients with high electric-field amplitudes

Single-cycle terahertz (THz) transients in the frequency range 0.3-7 THz with electric-field amplitudes of more than 400 kV/cm are generated by four-wave mixing of the fundamental and the second harmonic of 25 fs pulses from a Ti:sapphire amplifier in ionized air. These transients are fully characterized by electro-optic sampling with ZnTe and GaP crystals. One can tune the center frequency of the THz transients by varying the length of the incident pulse. The electric-field amplitude increases linearly with the incident pulse energy.     

Terahertz-pulse generation by photoionization of air with laser pulses composed of both fundamental and second-harmonic waves

Intense radiation in the terahertz (THz) frequency range can be generated by focusing of an ultrashort laser pulse composed of both a fundamental wave and its second-harmonic field into air, as reported previously by Cook et al. [Opt. Lett. 25, 1210 (2000)]. We identify a threshold for THz generation that proves that generation of a plasma is required and that the nonlinearity of air is insufficient to explain our measurements. An additional THz field component generated in the type I beta-barium borate crystal used for second-harmonic generation has to be considered if one is to avoid misinterpretation of this kind of experiment. We conclude with a comparison that shows that the plasma emitter is competitive with other state-of-the-art THz emitters.     

Nonlinear cross-phase modulation with intense single-cycle terahertz pulses

We have demonstrated nonlinear cross-phase modulation in electro-optic crystals using intense, single-cycle terahertz (THz) radiation. Individual THz pulses, generated by coherent transition radiation emitted by subpicosecond electron bunches, have peak energies of up to 100 microJ per pulse. The time-dependent electric field of the intense THz pulses induces cross-phase modulation in electro-optic crystals through the Pockels effect, leading to spectral shifting, broadening, and modulation of copropagating laser pulses. The observed THz-induced cross-phase modulation agrees well with a time-dependent phase-shift model.     

Coherent control of THz wave generation in ambient air

Our study of THz wave generation in the pulsed laser induced air plasma with individually controlled phase, polarization, and amplitude of the optical fundamental wave (omega) and its second harmonic (2omega) indicates that the third-order nonlinear optical process mixing the omega and 2omega beams in the ionized plasma is the main mechanism of the efficient THz wave generation. The polarity and the strength of the emitted THz field are completely controlled by the relative phase between the omega and 2omega waves. The measured THz field amplitude is proportional to the pulse energy of the fundamental beam and to the square root of the pulse energy of the second-harmonic beam once the total optical pulse energy exceeds the plasma formation threshold. The optimal THz field is achieved when all waves (omega, 2omega, and THz waves) are at the same polarization in the four-wave-mixing process.     

Review of recent efforts on efficient generation of monochromatic THz pulses based on difference-frequency generation

We review our recent efforts on power scaling of THz pulses generated from several nonlinear-optical crystals. By using a high-resistivity GaP crystal, we have significally increased the output peak power to as high as 722 W. By stacking three GaP wafers, we have further increased the highest output peak power to 2.36 kW. On the other hand, by using CO₂ laser pulses, we have obtained the average output power of 260 μW. We have also used these laser pulses to scale up the output power for the THz pulses to 29.8 μW by stacking GaAs wafers. Indeed, by stacking up to ten wafers, we have increased the output power by a factor of 160. Finally, by using ultrafast laser pulses, we have achieved record-high output powers for the THz pulses generated from multi-period periodically-poled LiNbO₃ crystals based on a backward configuration. The highest output power obtained by us so far is 10.7 μW.     

Optical rectification at metal surfaces

The emission of freely propagating terahertz (THz) radiation coming from optical rectification at metallic surfaces has been detected and characterized for the first time to the authors' knowledge. The observed THz transients are induced through nonlinear electronic processes at gold and silver surfaces on intense pulsed optical photoexcitation and exhibit a peak electric field of as much as 200 V/cm. This finding opens a qualitatively new way to investigate nonlinear phenomena at metal surfaces and also can be exploited for the development of new THz emitters.     

Modulation grating achieved by two interfered femtosecond laser pulses on the surface of the silica glass

Modulation grating has been achieved by two interfered femtosecond laser pulses on the surface of the silica glass. The modulation grating formed at the middle of each bulge of the common grating and was attributed to the higher-order modulation arising from second-harmonic generation (SHG) of the femtosecond laser pulse incident to the surface of silica glass. The periods and depths of the fundamental grating and the modulation grating have been observed by using an atomic force microscopy (AFM). Experimental results show that the average depth of the modulation grating is nearly a half of the depth of the fundamental grating.