Coherent THz Radiation Research Articles

Multistage Positron Acceleration by an Electron Beam-Driven Strong Terahertz Radiation

Laser–plasma accelerators (LPAs) have been demonstrated as one of the candidates for traditional accelerators and have attracted increasing attention due to their compact size, high acceleration gradients, low cost, etc. However, LPAs for positrons still face many challenges, such as the beam divergence controlling, large energy spread, and complicated plasma backgrounds. Here, we propose a possible multistage positron acceleration scheme for high energy positron beam acceleration and propagation. It is driven by the strong coherent THz radiation generated when an injected electron ring beam passes through one or more solid targets. Multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations demonstrated that each acceleration stage is able to provide nearly 200 MeV energy gain for the positrons. Meanwhile, the positron beam energy spread can be controlled within 2%, and the beam emittance can be maintained during the beam acceleration and propagation. This may attract one’s interests in potential experiments on both large laser facilities and a traditional accelerator together with a laser system.

First investigation of coherent terahertz radiation at a Super Tau Charm Factory

The coherent THz radiation with long-short beam operation mode is discussed at a Super Tau Charm Factory. The beam dynamics, RF parameters and some important issues are given. Two version of short bunch length are designed. Results show that the 2.0 mm short bunch length correspond to the frequency where the radiation power decreased sharply. The short bunch length should minimized to smaller than 1.5 mm at this facility to achieve proper coherent radiation power at THz frequency region.

Near-ideal energy modulator for tunable THz pulse generation using sectioned hollow channel plasma system

To break the bottleneck in generating high-power tunable coherent THz radiation with a narrow spectral bandwidth, we propose a novel scheme of using a hollow channel plasma to generate energy modulation in relativistic electron beams. Using magnetic optics, the energy modulation is then effectively converted into beam density modulation, forming microbunches with high-quality and very high bunching factors. The arrangement of segmented multistage hollow channels can further improve the bunching factor, thus significantly increasing the THz energy. We show both theoretical analyses and simulations of this scheme, showing that scheme can be realized in accelerator facilities with repetition rates on the order of kHz, providing great potential in revolutionizing science and related technologies.

High harmonics generation in bilayer graphene at high Fermi energies induced by coherent THz-radiation

The higher-order harmonic generation process in the nonperturbative regime at the interaction of coherent electromagnetic radiation with the AB-stacked bilayer graphene at high Fermi energies is considered. The applied coherent low-frequency radiation field in the high Fermi energy zone of electrons excludes the interband transitions enhancing high harmonic rates. The developed microscopic nonlinear quantum theory for charged carriers interaction with a strong pump wave is valid near the Dirac points of the Brillouin zone. The Liouville–von Neumann equation for the density matrix in the multiphoton excitation regime is solved both analytically and numerically. Based on the numerical solutions, we examine the rates of higher-order harmonics of the pump wave of arbitrary polarization. Obtained results show that bilayer graphene serves as an effective material for the generation of higher-order harmonics from THz to the mid-IR domain of frequencies at moderate pump wave intensities.

Mode enhancement of THz helical undulator radiation in waveguide

The generation of the coherent THz radiation in long undulators at the resonant wavelength is affected by the relatively broad spectrum of radiation that results in poor temporal coherence. The presence of the waveguide can essentially modify the continuous undulator radiation spectrum by converting it to a discrete one when radiation diffraction size exceeds the vacuum-chamber dimensions. In this paper the effect of a small radius circular waveguide on helical undulator radiation in the THz region is examined. It is shown that under certain conditions the presence of the waveguide can lead to radiation energy redistribution between the waveguide modes, enhancing the single resonance mode.

Novel radiation sources using relativistic electrons - Applications

Novel sources of radiation using relativistic electrons in periodic structures are being briefly discussed based on different mechanisms and producing radiation of very different characteristic.In this article we will focus among others on the Smith-Purcell effect and the many efforts made since their discovery 55 years ago. Especially Smith-Purcell (SP) free- electron lasers (FELs) using low energy electron beam are being seen as attractive option for a compact source of coherent terahertz radiation. The latter refers to the production of radiation in the THz gap region associated with many applications including very promi- sing and interesting results on imaging techniques in Medicine as well as applications in Biology, Molecular Physics etc. We will present calculations of Radiation Factors based on the Smith-Purcell radiation production with very interesting characteristics and discuss the possibility of calculating and designing a complete system of coherent THz radiation production based on a Smith-Purcell FEL.

Interband transitions in narrow-gap carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons

We use the robust nearest-neighbor tight-binding approximation to study the same footing interband dipole transitions in narrow-bandgap carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). It is demonstrated that curvature effects in metallic single-walled CNTs and edge effects in gapless GNRs not only open up bandgaps, which typically correspond to THz frequencies, but also result in a giant enhancement of the probability of optical transitions across these gaps. Moreover, the matrix element of the velocity operator for these transitions has a universal value (equal to the Fermi velocity in graphene) when the photon energy coincides with the bandgap energy. Upon increasing the excitation energy, the transition matrix element first rapidly decreases (for photon energies remaining in the THz range but exceeding two bandgap energies, it is reduced by three orders of magnitude), and thereafter it starts to increase proportionally to the photon frequency. A similar effect occurs in an armchair CNT with a bandgap opened and controlled by a magnetic field applied along the nanotube axis. There is a direct correspondence between armchair GNRs and single-walled zigzag CNTs. The described sharp photon-energy dependence of the transition matrix element, together with the van Hove singularity at the bandgap edge of the considered quasi-one-dimensional systems, makes them promising candidates for active elements of coherent THz radiation emitters. The effect of Pauli blocking of low-energy interband transitions caused by residual doping can be suppressed by creating a population inversion using high-frequency (optical) excitation.

Extreme terahertz electric-field enhancement in high-Q photonic crystal slab cavity with nanoholes.

A one-dimensional photonic-crystal (PC) cavity with nanoholes is proposed for extreme enhancement of terahertz (THz) electric fields using the electromagnetic (EM) boundary conditions. Both slot (for the perpendicular component of the electric displacement field) and anti-slot (for the parallel component of the electric field) effects contribute to the considerable field enhancement. The EM energy density can be enhanced by a factor of (εh/εl)2 in the high-refractive-index material, where εh and εl are the permittivities of the high- and low-refractive-index materials, respectively. Correspondingly, the mode volume can be reduced by a factor of 288, compared with a conventional THz PC cavity, and is three orders of magnitude smaller than the diffraction limitation. Further, the proposed THz cavity design also supports modes with high quality factors (Q) > 104, which induces strong Purcell enhancement by a factor exceeding 106. Our THz cavity design is feasible and attractive for experimental demonstrations, because the semiconductor layer in which the EM is maximized can naturally be filled with quantum-engineered active materials. Thus, the proposed design can possibly be used to develop room-temperature coherent THz radiation sources.

Study of the saturation of radiation energy caused by the space charge effect in a compact THz coherent radiation source

To generate an intense quasi-monochromatic Terahertz Coherent Undulator Radiation (THz-CUR), a compact linac system, which employs a magnetic electron bunch compressor with a beam energy of 4.6 MeV, has been constructed at Kyoto University. The THz-CUR has successfully been generated in a frequency range from 0.16 to 0.65 THz with a bunch charge of 60 pC. The maximum micro-pulse energy of THz radiation was observed higher than 1 μJ at 0.16 THz with 160 pC. However, when a bunch charge was higher than 80 pC, the micro-pulse energy of THz radiation gradually went to the saturation because of bunch lengthening and degradation of electron beam quality due to the space charge effect. The dependence of a bunch length on a bunch charge has been studied by GPT simulation and compared with CTR and CUR experiments. The trends of the measured results from CUR and CTR are in good agreement with the GPT simulation.

Observation of coherent undulator radiation in THz region

The generation of coherent THz radiation from femtosecond electron bunches passing through an undulator was demonstrated with a test accelerator as a coherent terahertz source (t-ACTS) at Tohoku University. The velocity bunching scheme in the traveling wave accelerating structure was employed to generate electron bunches much shorter than the THz wavelength. The electron bunch length was measured with the spectrum analysis method for coherent transition radiation. A 2.5-m long undulator with 25 periods and peak magnetic field of 0.41 T was utilized to generate the tunable coherent undulator radiation ranging from 2.6 to 3.6 THz at the t-ACTS. The measured frequency spectrum and spatial distribution of the coherent undulator radiation are presented.

Development of a compact electromagnetic undulator for linac-based coherent THz radiation source in Thailand

A linac-based accelerator system at the Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility of Chiang Mai University in Thailand can produce relativistic femtosecond electron bunches for generating coherent THz radiation. Originally, this accelerator system was built to produce high peak power THz/FIR radiation via transition radiation technique. To extend the system’s capability in production of higher average power and tunable coherent radiation, a project to add an undulator magnet as a source of coherent THz radiation was started. Construction of a compact 40-period electromagnetic undulator with short period length is in progress. Low electricity consumption, inexpensive materials and uncomplicated fabrication process are aimed. An undulator prototype was designed and built to investigate the magnetic field properties and to estimate the possibility on manufacturing of a future undulator magnet. A computer program RADIA was used to model a three-dimensional undulator prototype based on the fabricated magnet material and dimensions. This prototype has 4.5 periods consisting of 8 main-poles and 2 end-poles for magnetic field correction. The simulated peak magnetic field was 0.1858 T or equivalents to an undulator parameter of 0.98. This led to a calculated undulator radiation wavelength at the first harmonic of 109 μm for electron beam with energy of 10 MeV. This radiation is in the forward direction. After manufacturing, the magnetic field of the undulator prototype was measured and analyzed. The measurement result at an optimal excitation current of 5 A showed that an average period length of 54.8 mm and an average peak magnetic field of 0.1855 T were achieved. The measured undulator parameter was 0.97, which resulted in the undulator radiation wavelength of about 107 μm. A future electromagnetic undulator with 40 periods was designed and will be built based on the study results of this undulator prototype. The estimated angular flux density of the radiation emitted from 40 period undulator magnet is dominated at the first harmonic radiation wavelength of 109 μm, which is equivalent to the radiation frequency of 2.8 THz.

Coherent transition radiation from femtosecond electron bunches at the accelerator-based THz light source in Thailand

A THz radiation source based on electron linear accelerator (linac) has been built and commissioned at the Plasma and Beam Physics (PBP) Research Facility, Chiang Mai University (CMU) in Thailand since 2005. The accelerator system consists of a thermionic cathode RF electron gun, a magnetic bunch compressor in a form of an alpha-magnet, an S-band travelling-wave linac structure, beam steering and focusing magnets, beam and radiation diagnostic instruments, control system and other support components. Electron bunches with an average kinetic energy of about 8 MeV, a bunch charge of 100 pC, and a bunch length of 300 fs can be produced from the PBP-CMU electron linac system. Coherent THz radiation generated via transition radiation technique is used as a source of the THz spectroscopy and THz imaging applications. The measured power spectrum indicates that the radiation obtained from short electron bunches covers the frequency range of 0.15–1.80 THz or the wavenumber range of 5–60 cm−1. Experimental results reveal that a peak radiation power as high as 0.2 MW per micropulse and an average radiation power of 2.5 mW can be obtained. Generation and characterization of the coherent THz transition radiation as well as some examples of experiments to achieve electron bunch length and radiation power spectrum are reported and discussed in this paper.

Globally Stable Microresonator Turing Pattern Formation for Coherent High-Power THz Radiation On-Chip

In nonlinear microresonators driven by continuous-wave (cw) lasers, Turing patterns have been studied in the formalism of Lugiato-Lefever equation with emphasis on its high coherence and exceptional robustness against perturbations. Destabilization of Turing pattern and transition to spatio-temporal chaos, however, limits the available energy carried in the Turing rolls and prevents further harvest of their high coherence and robustness to noise. Here we report a novel scheme to circumvent such destabilization, by incorporating the effect of local mode hybridizations, and attain globally stable Turing pattern formation in chip-scale nonlinear oscillators, achieving a record high power conversion efficiency of 45% and an elevated peak-to-valley contrast of 100. The stationary Turing pattern is discretely tunable across 430 GHz on a THz carrier, with a fractional frequency sideband non-uniformity measured at 7.3x10^-14. We demonstrate the simultaneous microwave and optical coherence of the Turing rolls at different evolution stages through ultrafast optical correlation techniques. The free running Turing roll coherence, 9 kHz in 200 ms and 160 kHz in 20 minutes, is transferred onto a plasmonic photomixer for one of the highest power THz coherent generation at room-temperature, with 1.1% optical-to-THz power conversion. Its long-term stability can be further improved by more than two orders of magnitude, reaching an Allan deviation of 6x10^-10 at 100 s, with a simple computer-aided slow feedback control. The demonstrated on-chip coherent high-power Turing-THz system is promising to find applications in astrophysics, medical imaging, and wireless communications.

Terahertz generation from laser-driven ultrafast current propagation along a wire target.

Generation of intense coherent THz radiation by obliquely incidenting an intense laser pulse on a wire target is studied using particle-in-cell simulation. The laser-accelerated fast electrons are confined and guided along the surface of the wire, which then acts like a current-carrying line antenna and under appropriate conditions can emit electromagnetic radiation in the THz regime. For a driving laser intensity ∼3×10^{18}W/cm^{2} and pulse duration ∼10 fs, a transient current above 10 KA is produced on the wire surface. The emission-cone angle of the resulting ∼0.15 mJ (∼58 GV/m peak electric field) THz radiation is ∼30^{∘}. The conversion efficiency of laser-to-THz energy is ∼0.75%. A simple analytical model that well reproduces the simulated result is presented.

Fast mapping of terahertz bursting thresholds and characteristics at synchrotron light sources

Dedicated optics with extremely short electron bunches enable synchrotron light sources to generate intense coherent THz radiation. The high degree of spatial compression in this so-called low-alpha optics entails a complex longitudinal dynamics of the electron bunches, which can be probed studying the fluctuations in the emitted terahertz radiation caused by the micro-bunching instability ("bursting"). This article presents a "quasi-instantaneous" method for measuring the bursting characteristics by simultaneously collecting and evaluating the information from all bunches in a multi-bunch fill, reducing the measurement time from hours to seconds. This speed-up allows systematic studies of the bursting characteristics for various accelerator settings within a single fill of the machine, enabling a comprehensive comparison of the measured bursting thresholds with theoretical predictions by the bunched-beam theory. This paper introduces the method and presents first results obtained at the ANKA synchrotron radiation facility.

Asymmetric dual axis energy recovery linac for ultrahigh flux sources of coherent x-ray and THz radiation: Investigations towards its ultimate performance

In order for sources of coherent high brightness and intensity THz and X-Ray radiation to be accepted by university or industrial R&D laboratories, truly compact, high current and efficient particle accelerators are required. The demand for compactness and efficiency can be satisfied by superconducting RF energy recovery linear accelerators (SRF ERL) allowing effectively minimising the footprint and maximising the efficiency of the system. However such set-ups are affected by regenerative beam-break up (BBU) instabilities which limit the beam current and may terminate the beam transport as well as energy recuperation. In this paper we suggest and discuss a SRF ERL with asymmetric configuration of resonantly coupled accelerating and decelerating cavities. In this type of SRF ERL an electron bunch is passing through accelerating and decelerating cavities once and, as we show in this case, the regenerative BBU instability can be minimised allowing high currents to be achieved. We study the BBU start current in such an asymmetric ERL via analytical and numerical models and discuss the properties of such a system.

Design, development and use of the spectrometer for investigating coherent THz radiation produced by micro-bunching instabilities at Diamond Light Source

Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) are known for their low noise, ultra-fast response and excellent sensitivity. They are often implemented as detectors in the millimetre wavelength regime. Micro-bunch instabilities (MBI) have been detected at many light sources around the world including the Diamond Light Source, UK. These MBI can result in bursts of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) with millimetre wavelengths. More research needs to be carried out with regards to the dynamics of MBI in order to confirm the simulations and to eventually harness the power of the CSR bursts. A single shot spectrometer has been designed and is under operation at the Diamond Light Source (DLS). It is composed of eight SBDs ranging from 33-1000 GHz. Unlike previous measurements carried out, each of the SBDs has been individually characterised thus making the results obtained comparable to simulations. In this paper, we present the assessment of each SBD in the spectrometer and the first results of the spectrometer's use in the beam.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy of Raman inactive phonon-polariton in strontium titanate

ABSTRACTThe Raman inactive low-frequency phonon-polariton was studied in a quantum paraelectric strontium titanate crystal. The lowest frequency IR active T1u mode was investigated by the reflectance and transmittance Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy using the pulse coherent THz radiation from 0.2 to 5.0 THz. The complex dispersion relations were determined using the real and imaginary parts of a polariton wavevector calculated from the complex refractive index which reflects the T1u symmetry phonon-polariton. The remarkable change of the dispersion relation was observed in the vicinity of TO and LO mode frequencies for both real and imaginary parts of a polariton wave vector. The observed complex dispersion relation of T1u symmetry is in agreement within the experimental uncertainty with the dispersion curves fitted by the damped harmonic oscillator model.

Optical frequency fork based on stimulated Raman scattering

In this paper, we reported novel dual-wavelength lasers based on the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of multiple crystals. We called them “optical frequency forks” (OFFs) because the frequency interval was fixed and much smaller than the traditional frequency shifting of SRS. Using GdVO4 and BaWO4 crystals as the Raman mediums, and the frequency doubling (532 nm) of a pico-second Nd:YAG laser as the pump source, we obtained four groups of OFFs with the same frequency interval of 42 cm−1 successively, including 558.4 and 559.7 nm, 587.4 and 590.2 nm, 619.5 and 624.4, as well as 508.2 and 507.2 nm. Different with previous dual-wavelength solid-state lasers, here each frequency component (or to say “fork head”) comes from different optical path, so the composed OFFs possess many advantages, including stable, high efficiency, controllable energy ratio of fork heads, and adjustable frequency interval by replacing Raman laser medium. Such OFF is hopeful to find important applications in domains where high quality dual-wavelength lasers are needed, such as generating coherent THz radiation by difference frequency, optical beating, differential absorption, fine spectrum, etc.

ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources

In the ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources, the superconducting linear electron accelerator ELBE, serving two free electron lasers, sources for intense coherent THz radiation, mono-energetic positrons, electrons, γ-rays, a neutron time-of-flight system as well as two synchronized ultra-short pulsed Petawatt laser systems are collocated. The characteristics of these beams make the ELBE center a unique research instrument for a variety of external users in fields ranging from material science over nuclear physics to cancer research, as well as scientists of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).