Typesetting of terahertz waveforms

We demonstrate programmable generation of temporally shaped terahertz waveforms in LiNbO3 by spatially shaping the beam profile of femtosecond excitation laser pulses with a spatial light modulator. The generated terahertz waveforms have amplitudes that are approximately proportional to the first spatial derivative of the excitation beam profile.     

Single-shot measurement of temperature and pressure using laser-induced thermal gratings with a long probe pulse

We report accurate and precise single-shot measurements of temperature and pressure using laser-induced thermal grating spectroscopy (LITGS). The use of a flashlamp-pumped dye laser (FLPDL) as a probe for the induced gratings is described and a fast method of data analysis using Fourier methods is reported. Thermal gratings were induced by 8 ns pump pulses from a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser. The signals were produced by scattering 2-s-long pulses, of energy 200 mJ, from the FLPDL. LITGS signals were obtained from NO₂/N₂ mixtures at pressures in the range 1–40 bar and temperatures between ambient and 400 K. Temperature values were derived from the data with an accuracy of 0.42% and a single-shot precision of 0.16%. Pressure values were obtained with an accuracy of 5.7% and a precision of 1.4% limited by uncertainties in the gas kinetic parameters. PACS 63.62.Cf; 82.33.Vx     

0.14THz高功率太赫兹脉冲的频率测量

提出了采用截止波导法与谐波混频法相结合的方式,进行0.14THz高功率短脉冲的频率测量.首先将两个截止频率分别为0.125和0.15THz的非标准矩形波导作为接收端,通过截止波导滤波法获得了太赫兹辐射源的频率范围.然后根据已知的频率范围,将本振频率选择为15—20GHz,则谐波混频的谐波次数确定为8.随后的Ka波段的脉冲测试和0.14THz连续波测试表明,该8次谐波混频器可用于0.14THz脉冲的混频测量.最后,0.14THz脉冲频率测量实验给出了太赫兹辐射源的准确频率为0.1465THz.该方法大大降低了对本振信号的频率要求,且结果准确可信,为长波段太赫兹脉冲的频率测量提供了一种新的思路.     

一种太赫兹脉冲探测芯片性能分析

针对一种已经完成模拟设计、工艺研究及成品开发,且线度仅为百μm量级的太赫兹脉冲热载流子探测芯片展开了几何参数及电参数测试,并对其性能进行了分析探讨。结果表明:探测芯片具有较小的几何加工偏差和良好的欧姆接触效果;模拟计算的结果表明这种量级几何加工偏差对相对灵敏度影响可以忽略;综合分析各种测试测量结果,进一步验证了芯片开发工艺和测试结果的有效性。     

一种太赫兹脉冲探测芯片性能分析

针对一种已经完成模拟设计、工艺研究及成品开发,且线度仅为百m量级的太赫兹脉冲热载流子探测芯片展开了几何参数及电参数测试,并对其性能进行了分析探讨。结果表明：探测芯片具有较小的几何加工偏差和良好的欧姆接触效果;模拟计算的结果表明这种量级几何加工偏差对相对灵敏度影响可以忽略;综合分析各种测试测量结果,进一步验证了芯片开发工艺和测试结果的有效性。     

Ultrashort pulse characterization with a terahertz streak camera

A phase-locked terahertz transient is exploited as an ultrafast phase gate for femtosecond optical pulses. We directly map out the group delay dispersion of a low-power near-infrared pulse by measuring the electro-optically induced polarization rotation as a function of wavelength. Our experiment covers the spectral window from 1.0 to 1.4 μm and reaches a temporal precision better than 1 fs. A quantitative analysis of the detector response confirms that this streaking technique requires no reconstruction algorithm and is also well suited for the characterization of pulses spanning more than one optical octave.     

Determination of the temporal profile of a terahertz pulse by applying the nonlinear-optical cross-correlation method

The nonlinear-optical cross-correlation method is proposed to determine the temporal profile of the electric field of a pulse terahertz radiation modulating the phase of the basic femtosecond laser pulse in an electrooptical crystal. In this method the measurement of the temporal profile of the electric field of the terahertz radiation pulse is realized in one laser pulse.     

Approach to broadband terahertz pulse field detection and recovery with electro-optic sampling measurement

Electro-optic sampling (EOS) measurement of terahertz (THz) pulses inherently leads to distortions, especially for relatively broadband THz pulses. In this paper, we proposed an approach to broadband THz pulse field detection and recovery with EOS measurement. In our approach, we use an EOS measurement utilizing a thick GaP crystal, which has a high transverse optical phonon frequency, to reduce the distortions caused by dispersive propagation, interface reflection and Fabry-Perot effect (multiple reflections within an EO crystal). And a retrieval algorithm is designed to eliminate the distortion of broadband THz pluses after passing through the thick GaP crystal (The distortion in a thick GaP crystal is mainly attributed to phase mismatching between the THz pulse and the sampling laser pulse.), in which preconditioned conjugated gradient method is used.     

Nonlinear second-harmonic pulse compression with tilted pulses

We demonstrate that the group velocities of interacting pulses can be adjusted by pulse tilting to optimize second-harmonic pulse compression for a variety of nonlinear crystals and wavelengths. As an experimental proof we present results of ninefold compression of 1.3-ps Nd:glass laser pulses in beta -barium borate crystal.     

Real-time analysis of Doppler waveforms

The usefulness of objective analysis of Doppler waveforms is now well established but to date such measures have generally not been available in real-time. This Paper describes a real-time data analysis and collection system in use with a duplex scanner which is capable of producing objective measures of waveform shape during the investigation. It is shown as an example that this information can be used to identify, with high accuracy, babies likely to be classified at birth as distressed as early as the 34th week of pregnancy.     

High-power terahertz pulse sensor with overmoded structure

Based on the hot electron effect in a semiconductor, an overmoded resistive sensor for 0.3-0.4 THz band is investi-gated. The distribution of electromagnetic field components, voltage standing wave ratio （VSWR）, and the average electric field in the silicon block are obtained by using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method. By adjusting several factors （such as the length, width, height and specific resistance of the silicon block） a novel sensor with optimal structural parameters that can be used as a power measurement device for high power terahertz pulse directly is proposed. The results show that the sensor has a relative sensitivity of about 0.24 kW 1, with a fluctuation of relative sensitivity of no more than ±22%, and the maximum of VSWR is 2.74 for 0.3-0.4 THz band.     

Theoretical model of terahertz radiation generation by laser pulses with tilted wave fronts

A theoretical model is proposed for terahertz radiation generation by femtosecond laser pulses with tilted wave fronts. Self-consistent evolution of the optical and terahertz pulses is investigated. The red shift of the pumping pulse spectrum and the formation of short-long-wave quasi-solitons are examined.     

简易自相关仪对飞秒激光脉冲宽度的测量

用自制的简易自相关仪测量了飞秒的光脉冲宽度,测量结果与理论结果基本一致,并在此基础上分析了一些实验中的光学器件对飞秒激光脉冲宽度的影响.     

利用非锁定飞秒激光实现太赫兹频率的精密测量

频率是电磁波最重要的一个基本物理量,随着THz技术的发展,在光源研制、宽带通信、超精细光谱测量等领域都对THz频率的高精度侧量提出了要求.传统的Fabry-Perot干涉法与外差探测法难以实现THz频率的高精度测量,频率梳方法虽然测量精度很高,但测量系统复杂.本文提出一种利用重复频率自由漂移的飞秒激光器实现太赫兹频率精密测量的新方法.通过对非锁定的飞秒激光器的重复频率和THz拍频频率进行同时连续采集与计算,得到被测THz频率,测量精度可以达到10~(-10)量级无需对飞秒激光重复频率进行复杂的锁定控制,测量系统大大简化.     

Real-time, continuous-wave terahertz imaging by a pyroelectric camera

Real-time, continuous-wave terahertz (THz) imaging is demonstrated. A 1.89-THz optically-pumped farinfrared laser is used as the illumination source, and a 124 × 124 element room-temperature pyroelectric camera is adopted as the detector. With this setup, THz images through various wrapping materials are shown. The results show that this imaging system has the potential applications in real-time mail and security inspection.     

Real-time video signal transmission over a terahertz communication link

A 2.4-m communication link operating at 3.9 THz based on a terahertz quantum cascade laser and a terahertz quantum well photodetector （THz QWP） are introduced. The lumped electrical models of THz QWP for small signals are presented. A discussion of the bandwidth limit of the detecting circuit is presented. Using direct on off-keying modulation and intensity detection, the transmission of digital video signal with a data rate of 2.5 Mb/s is demonstrated. Pseudo-random binary sequences are transmitted to investigate the bit-error rate （BER） at different rates. Result shows the error free transmission when the rate is below 5 Mb/s.     

Real-time reflection imaging with terahertz camera and quantum-cascade laser

A real-time reflection imaging employing a terahertz （THz） camera as the imager and a 3.9 THz quantum- cascade laser （QCL） as the light source is demonstrated. The imaging light is collected and guided by only one off-axis parabolic mirror. The imaging distance is about 1 m. THz images of a coin and a knife are aacquired and analyzed. An actual soatial resolution with a value of about 0.33 mm is achieved.     

Optical pulse compression using the temporal Radon-Wigner transform

The temporal Radon-Wigner transform (RWT), which is the squared modulus of the fractional Fourier transform (FRT) for a varying fractional order p, is here employed as a tool for pulse compression applications. To synthesize the compressed pulse, a selected FRT irradiance is optically produced employing a photonic device that combines phase modulation and dispersive transmission. For analysis purposes, the complete numerical generation of the RWT with 0 < p < 1 is proposed to select the value of p required for pulse compression. To this end, the amplitude and phase of the signal to be processed should be known. In order to obtain this information we use a method based on the recording of two different FRT irradiances of the pulse. The amplitude and phase errors of the recovered signal, which are inherent to the recording process, are discussed in connection with the RWT production. Numerical simulations were performed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed method. The technique is applied to compress signals commonly found in fiber optic transmission systems, such as chirped gaussian pulses, pulses distorted by second and third-order dispersion and nonlinear self-modulated pulses.     

Tunable THz pulse generation by optical rectification of ultrashort laser pulses with tilted pulse fronts

Optical rectification of ultrashort near-IR laser pulses with tilted pulse fronts and pulse energies of a few J in Mg-doped stoichiometric LiNbO₃ cooled to low temperature is a powerful technique for efficient generation of THz pulses. The pulse energy critically depends on the Mg doping (necessary for preventing photorefractive damage) and can be easily increased by a factor of three if the MgO content is reduced. Pulse energies up to 400 pJ at repetition rates of 200 kHz and 3.4% quantum conversion efficiency are achieved at 77 K. At 10 K, changing the tilt angle of the pump pulse front results in continuous tuning of the frequency across the 1.0–4.4 THz range. The temporal pulse shapes measured by electro-optic sampling are in good agreement with the signal calculated by a simple theory. This model predicts tunability on a considerably broader range and narrower spectra even at room temperature if GaSe is used instead of LiNbO₃. The advantages of the velocity matching technique utilizing tilted pulse fronts are analyzed in comparison with quasi-phase-matching in periodically poled LiNbO₃ crystals. The first method provides a ten times higher pulse energy conversion efficiency. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.70.Mp; 42.72.Ai