Single-cycle Terahertz Radiation Research Articles

Tilted Electron Pulses.

We report the all-optical generation and characterization of tilted electron pulses by means of single-cycle terahertz radiation at an electron-transmitting mirror at slanted orientation. Femtosecond electron pulses with a chosen tilt angle are produced at an almost arbitrary target location. The experiments along with theory further reveal that the pulse front tilt in electron optics is directly connected to angular dispersion. Quantum mechanical considerations suggest that this relation is general for particle beams at any degree of coherence. These results indicate that ultrashort electron pulses can be shaped in space and time as versatilely as femtosecond laser pulses, but at 10^{5} times finer wavelength and subnanometer imaging resolution.

Meter-Scale Terahertz-Driven Acceleration of a Relativistic Beam.

Terahertz (THz) radiation promises breakthrough advances in compact advanced accelerators due to the gigavolts-per-meter fields achievable, but the challenge of maintaining overlap and synchronism between beams and short laser-generated THz pulses has so far limited interactions to the few-millimeter scale. We implement a novel scheme for simultaneous group and phase velocity matching of nearly single-cycle THz radiation with a relativistic electron beam for meter-scale inverse free-electron laser interaction in a magnetic undulator, resulting in energy modulations of up to 150keV using modest THz pulse energies (≤1 μJ). Using this scheme, we demonstrate for the first time the use of a laser-based THz source for bunch-length compression and time-stamping of a relativistic electron beam.

Classical and quantum-mechanical scaling of ionization from excited hydrogen atoms in single-cycle THz pulses

Excited atoms, or nanotip surfaces, exposed to strong single-cycle terahertz radiation emit electrons with energies strongly dependent on the characteristics of the initial state. Here we consider scaling properties of the ionization probability and electron momenta of H($nd$) atoms exposed to a single-cycle pulse of duration 0.5--5 ps, with $n=9,12,15$. Results from three-dimensional quantum and classical calculations are in good agreement for long pulse lengths, independent of pulse strength. However, differences appear when the two approaches are compared at the most detailed level of density distributions. For the longest pulse lengths a mixed power law, $n$-scaling relation, $\ensuremath{\alpha}{n}^{\ensuremath{-}4}+(1\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}){n}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ is shown to hold. Our quantum calculations show that the scaling relation puts its imprint on the momentum distribution of the ionized electrons as well: By multiplying the emitted electron momenta of varying initial $n$ level with the appropriate scaling factor the spectra fall onto a common momentum range. Furthermore, the characteristic momenta of emitted electrons from a fixed $n$ level are proportional to the pulse strength of the driving field.

Terahertz radiation-enhanced-emission-of-fluorescence

Terahertz (THz) wave science and technology have been found countless applications in biomedical imaging, security screening, and non-destructive testing as they approach maturity. However, due to the challenge of high ambient moisture absorption, the development of remote open-air broadband THz spectroscopy technology is lagging behind the compelling need that exists in homeland security, astronomy and environmental monitoring. Furthermore, the underlying physical mechanisms behind the interaction between the THz wave and laserinduced plasma which responds strongly to electromagnetic waves have not been fully understood. This review aims to explain the light-plasma interaction at THz frequencies within a semiclassical framework along with experimental study of the femtosecond-laserinduced nitrogen plasma fluorescence under the illumination of single-cycle THz pulses. The results indicate that THz-radiation-enhanced-emission-of-fluorescence (THz-REEF) is dominated by electron kinetics in the THz field and the electron-impact excitation of gas molecules/ions. The information of the time-dependent THz field can be recovered from the measured time-resolved THz-REEF from single-color laser induced plasma with the help of the bias as local oscillator. The calculations and experimental verification lead to complete understanding of the science behind these effects and push forward to extend their capabilities in related applications such as remote THz sensing, plasma diagnostics and ultrafast photoluminescence modulation. Systematic studies in selected gases including neon, argon, krypton, xenon, methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and n-butane (C4H10) gases were performed to obtain an improved understanding of the THz-REEF. The dependences of the enhanced fluorescence on the THz field, laser excitation intensity, gas pressure, and intrinsic atomic properties were experimentally characterized. Both narrow line emission and broad continuum emission of the gas plasma were enhanced by the THz field. Their fluorescence enhancement ratios and time-resolved enhanced fluorescence were largely dependent on the scattering cross section and ionization potential of atoms. For the first time, we demonstrated a novel ‘all-optical’ technique of broadband THz wave remote sensing by coherently manipulating the fluorescence emission from asymmetrically ionized gas plasma that interacted with THz waves. By studying the ultrafast electron dynamics under the single cycle THz radiation, we found that the fluorescence emission from laser-induced air plasma was highly dependent on the THz electric field and the symmetry of the electron drift velocity distribution created by two-color laser fields. The time-resolved THz-REEF can be tailored by switching the relative two-color phase and laser polarizations. Owing to the high atmospheric transparency and omni-directional emission pattern of fluorescence, this technique can be used to measure THz pulses at standoff distances with minimal water vapor absorption and unlimited directionality for optical signal collection. The coherent THz wave detection at a distance of 10 m had been demonstrated. The combination of this method and previously demonstrated remote THz generation would eventually make remote THz spectroscopy available. We also introduced a unique plasma diagnostic method utilizing the THz-wave-enhanced fluorescence emission from the excited atoms or molecules. The electron relaxation time and plasma density were deduced through applying the electron impact excitation/ionization and electron-ion recombination processes to the measured time-delay-dependent enhanced fluorescence. The electron collision dynamics of nitrogen plasma excited at different gas pressures and laser pulse energies were systematically investigated. This plasma diagnostic method offers picosecond temporal resolution and is capable of omnidirectional optical signal collection. The ultrafast quenching dynamics of laser-pulse-induced photoluminescence in semiconductors under the radiation of single-cycle THz pulses was studied. It was found that the quenching in both cadmium telluride (CdTe) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) was linearly proportional to the intensity of incident THz waves and reaches up to 17% and 4% respectively at the peak intensity of 13 MW/cm2. The THz-wave-induced heating of the carriers and lattice and the subsequent decreased efficiency of photocarrier generation and recombination were most likely to be responsible for the quenching. This is potentially useful for the applications of a non-invasive ultrafast light modulator for photoluminescence devices with picoseconds switching time in the fields of the light-emitting devices and optical communication.

Universal phase relation between longitudinal and transverse fields observed in focused terahertz beams

We directly observe longitudinal electromagnetic fields in focused freely propagating terahertz (THz) beams of radial and linear polarization. Employing electro-optic detection, which is phase sensitive, allows one to selectively detect longitudinal and transverse field components. A phase shift of π/2 between the transverse and longitudinal field components is revealed. This phase shift is of universal nature, as it does not depend on the mode, frequency and focusing conditions. We show that the universal phase relation is a direct consequence of the divergence-free nature of electromagnetic waves in vacuum. In the experiments, we observe the phase shift of π/2 for all frequency components of single-cycle THz radiation pulses of both radial and linear polarization. Additionally, we show that the longitudinal field of a radially polarized THz beam has a smaller spot size as compared with the transverse field of a linearly polarized beam that is focused under the same conditions. For field-sensitive measurements this property can be exploited even for moderate focusing conditions. Furthermore, the phase-sensitive detection of longitudinal electromagnetic fields opens up new possibilities to study their interaction with electronic excitations in semiconductor nanostructures.

Laser-induced photoacoustics influenced by single-cycle terahertz radiation

Laser-induced plasma acoustic waves are enhanced under the illumination of single-cycle terahertz (THz) radiation, making THz-enhanced acoustics (TEA) a useful method for THz wave detection. During a single-cycle THz pulse with its peak field of 100 kV/cm, a pressure enhancement of 10% is observed throughout the acoustic spectrum up to 140 kHz, and the TEA signal is found to increase linearly with THz wave intensity. By using dual-color laser excitation to manipulate free electron drift, it is possible to modulate the enhanced acoustic signal and recover a coherent THz time-domain waveform by simply "listening" to the plasma.

Generation and spectral manipulation of coherent terahertz radiation with two-stage optical rectification

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the generation of single-cycle terahertz radiation with two-stage optical rectification in GaSe crystals. By adjusting the time delay between the pump pulses employed to excite the two stages, the terahertz radiation from the second GaSe crystal can constructively superpose with the terahertz field injected from the first stage. The high mutual coherence between the two terahertz radiation fields is ensured with the coherent optical rectification process and can be further used to synthesize a desired spectral profile of coherent THz radiation. The technique is also potentially useful for generating high-power single-cycle terahertz pulses, usually limited by the pulse walk-off effect of the nonlinear optical crystal used.