Investigation of effect of electron temperature on intensity and efficiency of terahertz generated by laser beating in inhomogeneous plasma

Abstract

We report terahertz (THz) wave generation based on mixing of two radially polarized hollow Gaussian laser beams in periodic density plasma. We incorporate the effect of plasma electron temperature on THz intensity and efficiency. Our investigations reveal that emitted THz is radially polarized. Brightness and efficiency of THz significantly increase with plasma electron temperature. Our scheme predicts upto 2.4-fold enhancement in THz conversion efficiency with increase in plasma electron temperature from 0–10 KeV. We observe that effect of plasma electron temperature is more prominent when difference of laser frequency matches with plasma frequency i.e. The profile of THz depends on the laser parameters and it is independent of plasma electron temperature. A high THz field (∼10 MV cm−1) and high conversion efficiency (∼6%) is predicted for optimized pump laser and plasma parameters.