THz pulse generation using a contact grating device composed of TiO2/SiO2 thin films on LiNbO3 crystal

Abstract

We developed a new contact grating device for terahertz (THz) pulse generation by optical rectification. The device was made from polycrystalline rutile TiO2 thin film in the grating region and an amorphous SiO2 layer deposited on a Mg-doped LiNbO3 crystal. Our calculations indicated that the TiO2 grating on the SiO2 layer would yield an increase in diffraction efficiency of up to 0.69. The prepared TiO2 thin film had a sufficient laser induced damage threshold (140 GW/cm2) to enable effective THz pulse generation. Using a prototype device, we demonstrated THz pulse generation and investigated the phase-matching conditions experimentally.