Narrowband Terahertz Radiation Research Articles

Undulator radiation of premodulated and nonmodulated electron bunches in the negative mass instability regime

The use of both spatial premodulation and negative mass instability is promising for the energy enhancement and spectrum narrowing of the undulator radiation from dense electron bunches formed in modern laser-driven photoinjectors. Combining these two methods will permit the formation of long-lived trains of short and dense bunches with very large charges, which are able to efficiently emit a much more powerful and narrow-band terahertz radiation than single bunches with the same total charge, or premodulated bunches in the positive mass oscillation regime. The development of radiation instability in the negative mass regime can enable significant quasiperiodic self-modulation of relatively long nonmodulated bunches resulting in their fairly efficient and selective terahertz superradiance.

Non-perturbing THz generation at the Tsinghua University Accelerator Laboratory 31 MeV electron beamline.

In recent experiments at Tsinghua University Accelerator Laboratory, the 31 MeV electron beam, which has been compressed to subpicosecond pulse durations, has been used to generate high peak power, narrow band Terahertz (THz) radiation by transit through different slow wave structures, specifically quartz capillaries metallized on the outside. Despite the high peak powers that have been produced, the THz pulse energy is negligible compared to the energy of the electron beam. Therefore, the THz generation process can be complementary to other beamline applications like plasma wakefield acceleration studies and Compton x-ray free electron lasers. This approach can be used at x-ray free electron laser beamlines, where THz radiation can be generated without disturbing the x-ray generation process. In the experiment reported here, a high peak current electron beam generated strong narrow band (∼1% bandwidth) THz signals in the form of a mixture of TM01 and TM02 modes. Each slow wave structure is completed with a mode converter at the end of the structure that allows for efficient (>90%) power extraction into free space. In the experiment, both modes in these two dielectric-loaded waveguides TM01 (0.3 THz/0.5 THz) and TM02 (0.9 THz/1.3 THz) were explicitly measured with an interferometer. The THz pulse energy was measured with a calibrated Golay cell at a few μJ.

Narrowband terahertz radiation by impulsive stimulated Raman scattering in an above-room-temperature organic ferroelectric benzimidazole

We observe a terahertz radiation from a hydrogen-bonded organic molecular ferroelectric 5,6-dichloro-2-methylbenzimidazole excited by a femtosecond laser pulse at room temperature. The emitted terahertz wave consists of three oscillatory components, the frequencies of which agree with those of Raman- and infrared-active phonon modes. This suggests that the terahertz radiation is attributed to polarization modulations by infrared-active phonons excited via the impulsive stimulated Raman scattering processes. By taking into account the Raman polarizability tensor and dipole-moment for each phonon, we succeeded in reproducing not only the spectrum of the terahertz radiation, but also its time characteristic. The analysis method is discussed in detail. Our result provides a new way for the light-induced terahertz radiation in organic ferroelectrics.

Difference frequency generation of narrow-band THz radiation on the basis of a parametric three-wave interaction in a ZnTe crystal

We consider theoretically difference frequency generation of terahertz (THz) radiation in a collinear one-chip scheme with distributed feedback realized by the parametric interaction of optical waves in a periodically inhomogeneous zinc telluride (ZnTe) crystal with a quadratic nonlinearity. In the approximation of inexhaustible optical pumping at a wavelength λ=0.77μm, the possibility of obtaining a parametric generation with high-efficiency optical-THz conversion (more than 10−2 at temperature 80 K) is shown with an extremely narrow generation line of less than 0.01 THz. The conversion efficiencies at temperatures 80, 200 and 295 K are studied. The obtained results can be used to construct narrow-band THz lasers with a power of about 105 W/cm2 in the quasi-continuous generation regime.

High-Energy, Short-Duration Bursts of Coherent Terahertz Radiation from an Embedded Plasma Dipole

Emission of radiation from electrons undergoing plasma oscillations (POs) at the plasma frequency has attracted interest because of the existence of intriguing and non-trivial coupling mechanism between the electrostatic PO and the emitted electromagnetic wave. While broadband emission from plasma waves in inhomogeneous plasma is well known, the underlying physics of narrowband emission at the plasma frequency observed in experiments and in solar radio-bursts is obscure. Here we show that a spatially-localized plasma dipole oscillation (PDO) can be generated when electrons are trapped in a moving train of potential wells produced by the ponderomotive force of two slightly detuned laser pulses that collide in plasma and give rise to a burst of quasi-monochromatic radiation. The energy radiated in the terahertz spectral region can reach an unprecedented several millijoules, which makes it suitable for applications requiring short pulses of high-intensity, narrowband terahertz radiation.

THz Generation and Detection by Fluorenone Based Organic Crystals

Direct study and control of material properties using terahertz (THz) frequency pulses is an emerging subject with strong potential for future applications. One aspect of the development of THz-based techniques is the search for new materials that can efficiently convert higher frequency light into the THz-frequency range and serve to detect and characterize weak THz radiation with high sensitivity. Here, the capabilities of a new class of THz generators and detectors based on diphenylfluorenone (DPFO) crystals are explored. We demonstrate that DPFO crystals have an extremely large electro-optical coefficients centered at around f ≈ 1.5 THz which makes them ideal for THz detection at this frequency. Excitation with intense femtosecond near-infrared pulses leads to emission of narrow-band (Δf/f ≈ 20%) THz radiation near 1.5 THz. This frequency range does not overlap significantly with water vapor absorption lines, which allows for practical applications under ambient conditions.

Widely tunable narrow-band coherent Terahertz radiation from an undulator at THU

There is anxious demand for intense widely tunable narrow-band Terahertz (THz) radiation in scientific research, which is regarded as a powerful tool for the coherent control of matter. We report the generation of widely tunable THz radiation from a planar permanent magnet undulator at Tsinghua University (THU). A relativistic electron beam is compressed by a magnetic chicane into sub-ps bunch length to excite THz radiation in the undulator coherently. The THz frequency can be tuned from 0.4 THz to 10 THz continuously with narrow-band spectrums when the undulator gap ranges from 23 mm to 75 mm. The measured pulse THz radiation energy from 220 pC bunch is 3.5 μJ at 1 THz and tens of μJ pulse energy (corresponding peak power of 10 MW) can be obtained when excited by 1 nC beam extrapolated from the property of coherent radiation. The experimental results agree well with theoretical predictions, which demonstrates a suitable THz source for the many applications that require intense and widely tunable THz sources.

Generation of high-field narrowband terahertz radiation by counterpropagating plasma wakefields

It is found that nonlinear interaction of plasma wakefields driven by counterpropagating laser or particle beams can efficiently generate high-power electromagnetic radiation at the second harmonic of the plasma frequency. Using a simple analytical theory and particle-in-cell simulations, we show that this phenomenon can be attractive for producing high-field (∼10 MV/cm) tunable terahertz radiation with a narrow line width. For laser drivers produced by existing petawatt-class systems, this nonlinear process opens the way to the generation of gigawatt, multi-millijoule terahertz pulses which are not presently available for any other generating schemes.

Generation of narrowband terahertz radiation by an ultrashort laser pulse in a bulk LiNbO_3 crystal

We show that a femtosecond laser pulse propagating in a LiNbO3 crystal as a superposition of ordinary and extraordinary waves can efficiently generate narrowband terahertz radiation in a quasi-phase-matched regime. The generation mechanism is similar to that in periodically poled crystals, although it occurs in a bulk crystal. In particular, a 600 fs pulse from a Yb-doped laser amplifier can generate radiation at ∼0.5 THz with bandwidth of 3.6 GHz and efficiency ∼10−5. Frequency tuning can be achieved by tilting the laser beam in the crystal. The predicted effect can be used for creating tunable spectrally bright terahertz sources.

Narrowband terahertz generation with chirped-and-delayed laser pulses in periodically poled lithium niobate.

We generate narrowband terahertz (THz) radiation in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals using two chirped-and-delayed driver pulses from a high-energy Ti:sapphire laser. The generated frequency is determined by the phase-matching condition in the PPLN and influences the temporal delay of the two pulses for efficient terahertz generation. We achieve internal conversion efficiencies up to 0.13% as well as a record multicycle THz energy of 40μJ at 0.544THz in a cryogenically cooled PPLN.

Cascaded second-order processes for the efficient generation of narrowband terahertz radiation

The generation of high-energy narrowband terahertz radiation has gained heightened importance in recent years due to its potentially transformative impact on spectroscopy, high-resolution radar and more recently electron acceleration. Among various applications, such terahertz radiation is particularly important for table-top free electron lasers, which are at the moment a subject of extensive research. Second-order nonlinear optical methods are among the most promising techniques to achieve the required coherent radiation with energy > 10 mJ, peak field > 100 MV m−1, and frequency between 0.1 and 1 THz. However, they are conventionally thought to suffer from low efficiencies < ∼10−3, due to the high ratio between optical and terahertz photon energies, in what is known as the Manley-Rowe limitation. In this paper, we review the current second-order nonlinear optical methods for the generation of narrowband terahertz radiation. We explain how to employ spectral cascading to increase the efficiency beyond the Manley-Rowe limit and describe the first experimental results in the direction of a terahertz-cascaded optical parametric amplifier, a novel technique which promises to fully exploit spectral cascading to generate narrowband terahertz radiation with few percent optical-to-terahertz conversion efficiency.

Tunable High-Intensity Electron Bunch Train Production Based on Nonlinear Longitudinal Space Charge Oscillation.

High-intensity trains of electron bunches with tunable picosecond spacing are produced and measured experimentally with the goal of generating terahertz (THz) radiation. By imposing an initial density modulation on a relativistic electron beam and controlling the charge density over the beam propagation, density spikes of several-hundred-ampere peak current in the temporal profile, which are several times higher than the initial amplitudes, have been observed for the first time. We also demonstrate that the periodic spacing of the bunch train can be varied continuously either by tuning launching phase of a radio-frequency gun or by tuning the compression of a downstream magnetic chicane. Narrow-band coherent THz radiation from the bunch train was also measured with μJ-level energies and tunable central frequency of the spectrum in the range of ∼0.5 to 1.6THz. Our results pave the way towards generating mJ-level narrow-band coherent THz radiation and driving high-gradient wakefield-based acceleration.

Efficient narrowband terahertz generation in cryogenically cooled periodically poled lithium niobate.

We present an efficiency scaling study of optical rectification in cryogenically cooled periodically poled lithium niobate for the generation of narrowband terahertz radiation using ultrashort pulses. The results show an efficiency and brilliance increase compared to previous schemes of up to 2 orders of magnitude by exploring the optimal pump pulse format at around 800 nm, and reveal saturation mechanisms limiting the conversion efficiency. We achieve >10⁻³ energy conversion efficiencies, μJ-level energies, and bandwidths <20 GHz at ∼0.5 THz, thereby showing unprecedented spectral brightness in the 0.1-1 THz range relevant to terahertz science and technology.

No DNA damage response and negligible genome-wide transcriptional changes in human embryonic stem cells exposed to terahertz radiation.

Terahertz (THz) radiation was proposed recently for use in various applications, including medical imaging and security scanners. However, there are concerns regarding the possible biological effects of non-ionising electromagnetic radiation in the THz range on cells. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are extremely sensitive to environmental stimuli, and we therefore utilised this cell model to investigate the non-thermal effects of THz irradiation. We studied DNA damage and transcriptome responses in hESCs exposed to narrow-band THz radiation (2.3 THz) under strict temperature control. The transcription of approximately 1% of genes was subtly increased following THz irradiation. Functional annotation enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed 15 functional classes, which were mostly related to mitochondria. Terahertz irradiation did not induce the formation of γH2AX foci or structural chromosomal aberrations in hESCs. We did not observe any effect on the mitotic index or morphology of the hESCs following THz exposure.

Echo-enabled tunable terahertz radiation generation with a laser-modulated relativistic electron beam

A new scheme to generate narrow-band tunable terahertz (THz) radiation using a variant of the echo-enabled harmonic generation is analyzed. We show that by using an energy chirped beam, THz density modulation in the beam phase space can be produced with two lasers having the same wavelength. This removes the need for an optical parametric amplifier system to provide a wavelength-tunable laser to vary the central frequency of the THz radiation. The practical feasibility and applications of this scheme are demonstrated numerically with a start-to-end simulation using the beam parameters at the Shanghai Deep Ultraviolet Free-Electron Laser facility (SDUV). The central frequency of the density modulation can be continuously tuned by either varying the chirp of the beam or the momentum compactions of the chicanes. The influence of nonlinear rf chirp and longitudinal space charge effect have also been studied in our article. The methods to generate the THz radiation in SDUV with the new scheme and the estimation of the radiation power are also discussed briefly.

Circularly polarized narrowband terahertz radiation from a eulytite oxide by a pair of femtosecond laser pulses

We report on terahertz radiation induced by an optical rectification process in a noncentrosymmetric and insulating oxide, eulytite ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{4}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$, at room temperature. The radiated terahertz pulse consists mainly of a temporal oscillation component with a frequency of 2.01 THz. The generation of this oscillation is ascribed to an increase in the effective generation length for the terahertz radiation up to about 2 mm at 2.01 THz. By using a pair of femtosecond laser pulses with an appropriate interval, polarization, and power, we succeeded in controlling the trajectory of the radiated terahertz wave. This method also enabled us to generate circularly polarized narrowband terahertz radiation with 2.01 THz.

The THz Radiation Source at the SPARC Facility

The interest for Terahertz (THz) radiation is rapidly growing, both as it is a powerful tool for investigating the behavior of matter at low energy, and as it allows for a number of possible spectroscopic applications spanning from medical science to security. The linac-driven THz source at the SPARC facility can deliver broadband THz pulses with femtosecond shaping and can be used for electron beam diagnostics to fully reconstruct the longitudinal charge distribution. Beyond this application, the possibility to store much more energy in a single THz pulse than table-top sources renders the SPARC THz source very interesting for a spectroscopic use. In addition, taking advantage from electron beam manipulation techniques, high power, narrow-band THz radiation can be also generated. Those source characteristics provide a unique chance to realize THz-pump/THz-probe spectroscopy, a technique practically unexplored up to now.

Coherent Detection of Multiband Terahertz Radiation Using a Surface Plasmon-Polariton Based Photoconductive Antenna

We characterize a dipole antenna structure that allows for coherent detection of narrowband terahertz radiation with enhanced sensitivity at the resonant frequency. The antenna incorporates a corrugated metal structure that surrounds the dipole. Each periodically spaced groove in the corrugation couples an approximate replica of the incident THz pulse to a surface plasmon-polariton pulse, which then propagates towards and is detected by the dipole. We use numerical simulations to validate the experimental data. Based on these results, we describe a multiband dipole antenna detector that allows for enhanced sensitivity at multiple frequencies. This device can also be used as an emitter.

Retrieval of terahertz spectra through ultrafast electro-optic modulation

Ultrafast electro-optic modulation on a narrow band optical pulse is utilized to spectrally resolve coherent terahertz radiation. This technique requires no moving parts and has the potential to measure THz spectra with a resolution better than 10 GHz, limited by the bandwidth of the optical probe field or optical spectrometer. The dynamic range of this device is limited by the detection capabilities of an optical spectrometer, providing a highly efficient method of spectral reconstruction of both narrow band and broadband terahertz radiation.

Enhanced terahertz source based on external cavity difference-frequency generation using monolithic single-frequency pulsed fiber lasers

We demonstrate a resonant external cavity approach to enhance narrowband terahertz radiation through difference-frequency generation for the first time (to our knowledge). Two nanosecond laser pulses resonant in an optical cavity interact with a nonlinear crystal to produce a factor of 7 enhancement of terahertz power compared to a single-pass orientation. This external enhancement approach shows promise to significantly increase both terahertz power and conversion efficiency through optical pump pulse enhancement and effective recycling.