Direct emission of broadband terahertz cylindrical vector Bessel beam

Abstract

As one kind of special beams, a terahertz (THz) cylindrical vector Bessel beam processes centrosymmetric polarization distribution and nondiffractive propagation properties. Such a vector Bessel beam is potential in various practical applications ranging from THz communication and electron acceleration to sensing and imaging. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a method to directly emit a broadband THz cylindrical vector Bessel (CVB) beam using nonlinear effects. By photo-exciting an indium tin oxide film coated axicon with a circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulse, a high-quality CVB beam is obtained in a broadband THz frequency range. The proposed method is universal and low-cost, opening a simple avenue for the emission of broadband THz specialty beams.