High-sensitive terahertz detection by parametric up-conversion using nanosecond pulsed laser

A high-sensitive terahertz detector operating at room temperature was demonstrated based on parametric upconversion.A nanosecond 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser was used to pump the parametric up-conversion detector and the upconversion from terahertz wave to NIR laser was realized in a lithium niobate crystal.The minimum detectable terahertz energy of 9 p J was realized with the detection dynamic range of 54 d B,which was three orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial Golay cell.The detectable terahertz frequency range of the detection system was 0.90 Thz–1.83 THz.Besides,the effects of pump energy and effective gain length on the detection sensitivity were studied in experiment.The results showed that higher pump energy and longer effective gain length are helpful for improving the detection sensitivity of parametric up-conversion detector.     

High-power terahertz radiation from surface-emitted THz-wave parametric oscillator

We report a pulsed surface-emitted THz-wave parametric oscillator based on two MgO:LiNbO3 crystals pumped by a multi-longitudinal mode Q-switched Nd:YAG laser.Through varying the phase matching angle,the tunable THzwave output from 0.79 THz to 2.84 THz is realized.The maximum THz-wave output was 193.2 nJ/pulse at 1.84 THz as the pump power density was 212.5 MW/cm 2,corresponding to the energy conversion efficiency of 2.42×10-6 and the photon conversion efficiency of about 0.037%.When the pump power density changed from 123 MW/cm 2 to 148 MW/cm 2 and 164 MW/cm 2,the maximum output of the THz-wave moved to the high frequency band.We give a reasonable explanation for this phenomenon.     

Pump-enhanced optical parametric oscillator generating continuous wave tunable terahertz radiation

We demonstrate a tunable cw terahertz (THz) parametric oscillator based on periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate, directly converting the 1030 nm pump wave into the THz regime. The tunability ranges from 1.2 to 2.9 THz at output power levels between 0.3 and 3.9 μW. To overcome the high pump threshold caused by THz absorption in the nonlinear crystal, we employ an enhancement cavity with a finesse of 500 at the pump wavelength. The intracavity pump threshold at 1.4 THz is measured to be 350 W for a crystal length of 2.5 cm.     

Manipulation of terahertz radiation using metamaterials

During the past decade electromagnetic metamaterials have realized many exotic phenomena that are difficult or impossible using naturally occurring materials. It is their resonantly enhanced interaction with electromagnetic waves that underpins their attractive qualities, which are increasingly important in the terahertz frequency range. Passive and active terahertz metamaterials and devices have enabled novel functionality and unprecedented terahertz device performance. These demonstrations prove their potential to address the so‐called terahertz gap, a technology vacuum associated with the deficiency of natural materials with a desirable terahertz response.     

Analysis of generation of terahertz radiation by nonlinear mixing of laser frequencies in GaAs crystal

Generation of terahertz (THz) radiation by nonlinear mixing of laser frequencies in GaAs crystal is considered for the case of free and guided propagation of THz waves. In the first case the strong diffraction of the THz radiation leads to the deviation from the known square-law growth of the generator power with increasing crystal length, In the second case the spatial divergence of the exciting laser beam results in the appearance of a maximum in the generated power dependence on the radius of the nonlinear waveguide. According to estimations, the optimal radius of the laser beam is 18 μm for the waveguide length of 6 mm and the maximal generated THz power is ～27 W at the laser beam power of 10 kW.     

Optical injection and terahertz detection of the macroscopic Berry curvature

We propose an experimental scheme to probe the Berry curvature of solids. Our method is sensitive to arbitrary regions of the Brillouin zone and employs only basic optical and terahertz techniques to yield a background-free signal. Using semiconductor quantum wells as a prototypical system, we discuss how to inject Berry curvature macroscopically and probe it in a way that provides information about the underlying microscopic Berry curvature.     

Efficient infrared detection by two-step upconversion

Detection of infrared radiation by nonlinear upconversion into the visible region is considered. The method enables one to operate the system at room temperature. It is shown that by employing a second-step upconversion in commonly available visible nonlinear crystals like KDP, KD,1 P and ADP it is possible to detect infrared signals with sensitive photocathodes.     

Resolution measurements in parametric upconversion of images

An experimental investigation is made of the imaging properties of a parametric upconverter. Resolution is measured for several optical configurations and for different wavelengths. These results are compared to earlier theoretical analyses.     

Time-resolved single-photon detection by femtosecond upconversion

We demonstrate a time-resolved single-photon detection technique based on ultrafast sum-frequency generation, providing femtosecond measurement capability for single photons in photonic quantum information processing. Noncollinear broadband upconversion in periodically poled MgO-doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate with an ultrafast pump and detection with a Si single-photon counter enable efficient detection of IR photons and temporal resolution of ~150 fs. We utilize the timing resolution to map the generation efficiency profile along the propagation axis of a periodically poled KTiOPO(4) crystal, revealing its local grating quality with millimeter resolution. We also apply the technique to two-photon coincidence measurements and directly demonstrate time anticorrelation between coincident-frequency entangled photons that are parametrically generated under extended phase-matching conditions.     

Non-destructive detection of pigments in oil painting by using terahertz tomography

<正>Dear Editors,Terahertz technology has been applied in many fields[1–3].The protection and restoration of historical relics and cultural heritage,which is a new application area of terahertz technology,have been attracting much attention recently[4,5]because of its social significance and market prospects.The most important premise is to obtain information of the cultural relics without damaging them again.Therefore the appropriate non-destructively testing methods are urgently     

太赫兹时域光谱技术用于老化炸药检测

库存炸药老化情况的检测对炸药的性能、安全性和稳定性研究意义重大.现有的老化炸药检测手段,如扫描显微技术,傅里叶变换红外光谱技术,气相色谱-质谱技术等,或者不能分辨炸药老化与否,或者只能从表观上进行分析,不能反映炸药分子结构的变化.首先应用密度泛函理论(DFT),计算了炸药老化前后分子吸收频谱变化,从计算结果可以看出炸药分子老化前后的吸收光谱在老化前后变化明显;然后分析了太赫兹时域光谱(THz-TDS)系统及其分辨率和测量频谱范围,结合已有实验结果以及太赫兹波本身的特点,从可行性、准确性和实用性三方面对太赫兹时域光谱技术应用于炸药老化检测进行了论证,从而提出了应用太赫兹时域光谱技术进行炸药老化检测的新方法.     

Generation and detection of terahertz radiation by means of periodically and aperiodically poled crystals

The nonlinear optical methods for generating and detecting terahertz radiation using periodically and aperiodically poled crystals in the quasi-phase-matching mode are analyzed. Two radically different versions of optical pumping are considered: a quasi-continuous mode and pumping by Fourier-limited femto-second pulses. General relations are obtained, which determine the spectra of generated and detected waves through the optical pumping parameters and the crystal generator and crystal detector nonlinear transfer functions. It is shown that, by choosing the optimal spatial modulation of the crystal nonlinear susceptibility, one can control the shape of the generation and detection spectra. An optical scheme is proposed and the optimal parameters of domain structures for quasi-phase-matched generation and frequency-matched detection of forward and backward terahertz waves under quasi-continuous-wave optical pumping are reported.     

Interband impact ionization and nonlinear absorption of terahertz radiation in semiconductor heterostructures

We have theoretically investigated nonlinear free-carrier absorption of terahertz (THz) radiation in InAs/AlSb heterojunctions. By considering multiple photon process and conduction-valence interband impact ionization (II), we have determined the field and frequency dependent absorption rate. It is shown that (i). electron-disorder scatterings are important at low to intermediate field, and (ii). most importantly, the high field absorption is dominated by II processes. Our theory can satisfactorily explain a long-standing experimental result on the nonlinear absorption in the THz regime.     

Generation and detection of terahertz radiation with multilayered electro-optic polymer films

We use optical rectification and electro-optic sensing to generate and detect terahertz radiation, using individual and multilayered stacks of electro-optic polymer films. For comparable thickness, the polymer films are more efficient generators and detectors of terahertz radiation than ZnTe crystals.     

Laser-induced photoacoustics influenced by single-cycle terahertz radiation

Laser-induced plasma acoustic waves are enhanced under the illumination of single-cycle terahertz (THz) radiation, making THz-enhanced acoustics (TEA) a useful method for THz wave detection. During a single-cycle THz pulse with its peak field of 100 kV/cm, a pressure enhancement of 10% is observed throughout the acoustic spectrum up to 140 kHz, and the TEA signal is found to increase linearly with THz wave intensity. By using dual-color laser excitation to manipulate free electron drift, it is possible to modulate the enhanced acoustic signal and recover a coherent THz time-domain waveform by simply "listening" to the plasma.     

Optical parametric processes in isotropic third-order nonlinear media with magneto-optic properties

Optical parametric interaction in isotropic third-order nonlinear media with magneto-optic properties is investigated. It is shown that new phase-matching conditions with a magneto-optic contribution are possible. In particular, we study four-wave mixing and electric field-induced three-wave parametric processes in the presence of a magnetic field applied along the direction of propagation of the interacting waves. Control of the new phase-matching branches can be achieved by tuning of the magnetic field.     

Resonant detection of terahertz radiation utilizing plasma waves in high-electron-mobility transistors

This paper theoretically studies the high-electron-mobility transistor （HEMT） driven by the terahertz radiation. It calculates the gate-to-source/drain admittance and the detection responsivity of the HEMT as a function of the signal frequency. It finds that the peaks of the admittances and the responsivity show redshift, and the heights of the peaks decrease with increasing the lengths of the source-to-gate and gate-to-drain spacing. Such phenomena may be useful in designing different HEMTs by utilizing the effects associated with the plasma oscillations excitation.     

Noncritical detection of tunable CO2 laser radiation into the green by upconversion in silver thio-gallate

Tangential near-noncritical phase matching is reported for upconversion in silver thiogallate (AgGaS₂) using a dye laser as pump. A large acceptance angle for noncollinearity as desirable from a device view point is realised. Weak temperature tunability is also exploited to realise noncriticality.     

Optical methods for the generation of terahertz radiation and subterahertz acoustics of solids

Various methods to increase the efficiency of the generation of broadband terahertz radiation based on optical rectification have been analyzed. The solutions of self-consistent optical terahertz equations have been studied using the inclined front technique. The effect of symmetric and asymmetric resonant impurity centers incorporated into a crystal has been examined. Transient and asymptotic stages of generation have been considered. Attention has been focused on the evolution of the spectra of both generated terahertz and input optic signals. One- and two-frequency generation modes have been discussed. Acoustic analogs that would provide the possibility of the generation of the gigahertz acoustic supercontinuum using subterahertz elastic signals in a solid have been analyzed. The main similarities and differences between terahertz optics and subterahertz acoustics have been revealed.     

利用康普顿散射实现太赫兹皮秒脉冲的分析

研究了利用微波与电子束团的康普顿散射实现太赫兹的方法、光子产额和辐射功率。推导出了单个电子产生的太赫兹的光子产额和辐射功率表达式,也推导出了电子束团产生的太赫兹的光子总产额和辐射总功率表达式。结果发现：利用微波与电子束团发生康普顿垂直散射,可以产生太赫兹皮秒脉冲;单个电子产生的太赫兹光子产额与微波功率、微波波长成正比,与微波束截面积成反比;单个电子产生的太赫兹辐射功率与微波功率、电子Lorentz因子的平方成正比,与微波束截面积成反比;电子束团产生的太赫兹光子总产额与微波功率的平方、微波波长的平方成正比,与微波束截面积的平方成反比;电子束团产生的太赫兹辐射总功率与微波功率的平方、微波波长以及电子Lorentz因子的平方成正比,与微波束截面积的平方成反比。