大口径天线短脉冲微波辐射特性

为了开展大口径天线短脉冲微波辐射特性研究,建立了一套大口径天线微波短脉冲特性测试系统。该系统可产生快上升沿、脉冲可调(脉宽最短可到0.5 ns)的微波激励脉冲、接收动态范围大于52 dB。利用该测试系统进行实验,获得了不同微波激励脉冲宽度条件下,天线方向图和辐射场波形脉冲宽度变化曲线。测试结果表明：在天线远场距离处,改变微波激励脉冲宽度,对天线主轴辐射场波形基本无影响;而在偏离主轴处,辐射场波形会出现不同程度的脉冲展宽及幅值减小等波形畸变现象,偏离主轴角度越大,微波激励脉冲宽度越小,畸变越明显。     

大口径天线短脉冲微波辐射特性

为了开展大口径天线短脉冲微波辐射特性研究,建立了一套大口径天线微波短脉冲特性测试系统。该系统可产生快上升沿、脉冲可调(脉宽最短可到0.5 ns)的微波激励脉冲、接收动态范围大于52 dB。利用该测试系统进行实验,获得了不同微波激励脉冲宽度条件下,天线方向图和辐射场波形脉冲宽度变化曲线。测试结果表明:在天线远场距离处,改变微波激励脉冲宽度,对天线主轴辐射场波形基本无影响;而在偏离主轴处,辐射场波形会出现不同程度的脉冲展宽及幅值减小等波形畸变现象,偏离主轴角度越大,微波激励脉冲宽度越小,畸变越明显。     

Undistorted guided-wave propagation of subpicosecond terahertz pulses

We report efficient quasi-optic coupling of a freely propagating beam of terahertz (THz) pulses into a parallel-plate copper waveguide (with a plate separation of 108mum) and subsequent low-loss, single-TEM-mode propagation with virtually no group-velocity dispersion. Undistorted, low-loss propagation of the incoming 0.3-ps FWHM THz pulses was observed within the bandwidth from 0.1 to 4 THz for a length of 24.4 mm. We compare experimentally derived values for the absorption and phase velocity with theory to show consistency. This demonstration is direct proof of the excellent performance of the parallel-plate waveguide as a wideband THz interconnect.     

Soliton-like propagation of broadband terahertz pulses in a system of tunnel junctions

Soliton-like regimes of propagation of broadband terahertz pulses in a system of tunnel junctions have been theoretically studied taking into account the effect of quantum states higher in energy. This study has been performed beyond the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes standard for quasimonochromatic signals. It has been shown that the role of higher lying states is fundamentally important and is not reduced only to correction effects. Previously unknown soliton-like regimes of propagation, as well as the corresponding dynamics of a medium, have been analyzed. Nonlinear refraction processes have been taken into account. Conditions for self-focusing and defocusing of pulses have been revealed. A new type of localized terahertz “bullets” with sharp boundaries at a nonequilibrium initial population of tunneling states has been predicted. The main difference of these bullets from those previously considered in an optical range is that diffraction does not affect the formation of the former. In this case, the focusing effect caused by a tunneling transition is compensated by the defocusing effect of transitions to higher lying states under the conditions of applicability of the geometrical optics approximation.     

Near-field and far-field propagation of beams and pulses in dispersive media

We formulate an efficient exact method of propagating optical wave packets (and cw beams) in isotropic and nonisotropic dispersive media. The method does not make the slowly varying envelope approximation in time or space and treats dispersion and diffraction exactly to all orders, even in the near field. It can also be used to determine the partial differential wave equation for pulses (and beams) to any order as a power series in the partial derivatives with respect to time and space. The method can treat extremely focused pulses and beams, e.g., from near-field scanning optical microscopy sources whose transverse spatial extent in smaller than a wavelength.     

Tailored terahertz pulses from a laser-modulated electron beam

We present a new method to generate steady and tunable, coherent, broadband terahertz radiation from a relativistic electron beam modulated by a femtosecond laser. We have demonstrated this in the electron storage ring at the Advanced Light Source. Interaction of an electron beam with a femtosecond laser pulse copropagating through a wiggler modulates the electron energies within a short slice of the electron bunch with about the same duration of the laser pulse. The bunch develops a longitudinal density perturbation due to the dispersion of electron trajectories, and the resulting hole emits short pulses of temporally and spatially coherent terahertz pulses synchronized to the laser. We present measurements of the intensity and spectra of these pulses. This technique allows tremendous flexibility in shaping the terahertz pulse by appropriate modulation of the laser pulse.     

Near-field terahertz imaging with a dynamic aperture

By introduction of an optical gating beam on a semiconductor wafer, near-field terahertz (THz) imaging with a dynamic aperture has been realized. The spatial resolution is determined by the focus size of the optical gating bean and the near-field diffraction effect. THz imaging with subwavelength spatial resolution (better than 50mum) is demonstrated.     

Scattering and propagation of terahertz pulses in random soot aggregate systems

Scattering and propagation of terahertz pulses in random soot aggregate systems are studied by using the generalized multi-particle Mie-solution(GMM) and the pulse propagation theory. Soot aggregates are obtained by the diffusion-limited aggregation(DLA) model. For a soot aggregate in soot aggregate systems, scattering characteristics are analyzed by using the GMM. Scattering intensities versus scattering angles are given. The effects of different positions of the aggregate on the scattering intensities, scattering cross sections, extinction cross sections, and absorption cross sections are computed and compared. Based on pulse propagation in random media, the transmission of terahertz pulses in random soot aggregate systems is determined by the two-frequency mutual coherence function. Numerical simulations and analysis are given for terahertz pulses(0.7956 THz).     

Superluminal terahertz pulses

In femtosecond terahertz-pulse (T-ray) imaging of metal structures with dimensions of the order of the wavelength, it is observed that the T rays propagate faster than the vacuum speed of light. In the case of apertures this can be understood as a waveguide effect in which superluminal velocities are expected close to the cutoff frequency. However, the effect is also observed close to knife edges and in propagation past thin metal wires.     

Generation and characterization of terahertz pulse trains from biased, large-aperture photoconductors

The saturation properties of terahertz emission from biased, large-aperture photoconductors excited by trains of amplified femtosecond optical pulses are presented. A direct comparison is made of the multiple-pulse saturation properties of terahertz emission from semi-insulating GaAs and low-temperature-grown GaAs emitters with different carrier lifetimes. When the carrier lifetime is less than or comparable with the interpulse spacing, a significant enhancement of the narrow-band terahertz output is observed. The enhancement is not observed for emitters with long carrier lifetimes, consistent with the results of a previously derived saturation theory [Opt. Lett. 18, 1340 (1993)].     

Effect of spherical aberration and surface waves on propagation of lens-coupled terahertz pulses

Spatiotemporal measurements of a near-single-cycle terahertz pulse emitted from a photoconductive switch terahertz (THz) source show the effects of spherical aberration and surface waves on the pulse shape. The measured phase front has a swallow-tail shape described by catastrophe theory that contributes to the concentric ring structure of THz beam profiles. A time-of-flight model shows that the pulse shape is due to propagation along a cusp caustic and enhancement of the wings of the swallow-tail pulse is caused by surface waves.     

Whispering-gallery mode terahertz pulses

We report what is to our knowledge the first observation of a subpicosecond terahertz (THz) pulse propagating as a superposition of the whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) of a dielectric cylinder. The WGM THz pulses are coupled into and out of a 5-mm-diameter silicon cylinder via a 100-mum -thick, single-mode silicon slab waveguide. We observed two round-trip cylindrical cavity pulses from this coupling structure, which cover a continuous frequency range from 0.4 to 1.8 THz. The coupled-mode equations are used to analyze this system and give reasonably good agreement with the experiment in both the frequency and the time domains.     

Generation of high-power terahertz pulses in a prism

A compact, high-power emitter of half-cycle terahertz (THz) radiation is demonstrated. The device consists of an epitaxial InAs emitter upon a GaAs prism and produces THz pulses that are 20 times more powerful than those from conventional planar InAs emitters. This improvement is a direct result of reorienting the transient THz dipole such that its axis is not perpendicular to the emitting surface.     

Spatiotemporal shaping of terahertz pulses

We report temporal shaping of few-cycle terahertz pulses, using a slit in a conductive screen as a high-pass filter. The filter's cutoff frequency was tuned by changing the width of the slit; the slope of the cutoff transition was altered by changing the thickness of the screen. We measured the transmission function of the filters, using large-aperture photoconducting antennas to create and detect the incident and transmitted electric field. Our experimental results were in excellent agreement with the performed finite-difference time-domain simulations of the propagation of the pulse through the slit. When the screen thickness was greater than the slit width, the filter was well modeled by a short, planar waveguide. Using a simple transfer function, we accurately describe the sharp cutoff and dispersion of such a filter.     

Time-domain differentiation of terahertz pulses

We report on the time-domain differentiation of light waves by metallic transmission gratings. Time-resolved terahertz experiments show that the first time derivative of an arbitrary waveform can be achieved by use of gratings of subwavelength period. The results are in accord with classical diffraction theory and may permit novel applications for tailoring few-cycle light pulses and ultrahigh-frequency optoelectronics.     

GaP波导型发射器产生频率可调谐太赫兹脉冲

报道了利用脉宽可调的光子晶体光纤飞秒激光放大器抽运矩形波导结构的GaP晶体太赫兹(THz) 发射器产生频率可调谐的超快THz脉冲.非线性晶体中光整流过程产生的THz辐射频率随抽运光脉冲宽度而 变化. GaP波导THz发射器可通过波导的几何尺寸来控制色散,以达到增加有效作用长度和提高输出功率的目的. 不同横截面尺寸的波导型发射器的THz辐射峰值频率随相位匹配条件的改变而改变,加以脉宽调节技术, 可以在大频谱范围获得频谱精细可调的THz脉冲.实验中在1 mm×0.7 mm的波导型THz发射器中获得了 频率可调谐的THz脉冲.提出实现THz辐射频率大范围调谐的GaP波导型阵列发射器的实施方案.     

Investigation of terahertz generation from passively Q-switched dual-frequency laser pulses

When two Nd:YLF crystals share a Cr:YAG crystal functioning as a single passive Q switch, the timing jitter between each pair of dual-frequency pulses generated by the two crystals has been reduced by a factor of 20. Such a reduction in the timing jitter allows us to generate terahertz pulses by focusing such a passively Q-switched laser beam onto a nonlinear crystal. Such a result represents the first step for us to eventually implement a compact terahertz source based on ultracompact microchip lasers.     

Terahertz-radiation-enhanced broadband terahertz generation from large aperture photoconductive antenna

A technique of enhancing and broadening terahertz (THz) wave radiation from large aperture photoconductive (PC) antenna is presented in this paper. In this technique, the PC antenna is excited by both the optical and previously generated THz pulses by a laser-induced air plasma created in front of PC antenna and an enhanced and broadened THz wave signal is obtained. The theoretical and experimental investigation shows that the superposition is the main mechanism for this enhancement. The technique shown in this paper can be very useful for THz imaging and spectroscopy.     

Generation of terahertz radiation during reflection of femtosecond laser pulses from a metal surface

The features of terahertz radiation generated upon oblique incidence of a femtosecond laser pulse on a metal surface are investigated theoretically. We propose a Cherenkov-type generation mechanism associated with excitation of low-frequency surface currents by a p-polarized optical field. The nonlinear surface currents and corresponding electrodynamic characteristics of low-frequency radiation are calculated analytically and by numerical simulation using the hydrodynamic model. The features of Cherenkov generation of terahertz radiation are analyzed, and techniques are proposed for increasing efficiency.     

超高斯波束圆口径天线近场辐射特性北大核心CSCD

采用口径场理论分析了不同孔束比(孔径与束腰之比)的超高斯分布圆形口径天线近场辐射特性,得到了聚焦条件下焦点位置的近场增益解析式。并对不同观测位置点天线的辐射特性进行了仿真,结果表明:当观测点小于焦距的0.3倍时,且波束阶数大于4时,天线的辐射图样与孔束比无关;当观测点位于焦点时,设定孔束比,不同阶数的波束分布的辐射图样明显不同,但当孔束比为4以上时,辐射图样基本保持稳定,而且高阶波束没有旁瓣出现。