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

Cirmi, Giovanni; Hemmer, Michaël; Ravi, Koustuban; Reichert, Fabian; Zapata, Luis E.; Calendron, Anne-Laure; Çankaya, Hüseyin; Ahr, Frederike; Mücke, Oliver D.; Matlis, Nicholas H.; Kärtner, Franz X.

doi:10.1088/1361-6455/aa5405

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Other such cases include using optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) that are at different central wavelengths (i.e. not pulse copies) where the pulses are either Fourier-limited, broadband [35] or narrowband [44,51,52], or chirped [36][37][38]40,45,53,54] (named the DC-OPA). In all of these cases TOD would also have a significant effect, but the severity depends highly on the specific parameters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the effect of third-order dispersion on phase-matched terahertz generation via interfering chirped pulses

Jolly¹,

Ahr²,

Ravi³

et al. 2019

Opt. Express

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High-energy narrowband terahertz (THz) pulses, relevant for a plethora of applications, can be created from the interference of two chirped-pulse drive lasers. The presence of third order dispersion, an intrinsic feature of many high-energy drive lasers, however, can significantly reduce the optical-to-THz conversion efficiency and have other undesired effects. Here, we present a detailed description of the effect of third-order dispersion (TOD) in the pump pulse on the generation of THz radiation via phase-matching of broadband highly chirped pulse trains. Although the analysis is general, we focus specifically on parameters typical to a Ti:Sapphire chirped-pulse amplification laser system for quasi-phase-matching in periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) in the range of THz frequencies around 0.5 THz. Our analysis provides the tools to optimize the THz generation process for applications requiring high energy and to control it to produce desired THz waveforms in a variety of scenarios.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the effect of third-order dispersion on phase-matched terahertz generation via interfering chirped pulses

Jolly¹,

Ahr²,

Ravi³

et al. 2019

Opt. Express

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“…Our proof-of-principle implementation of the cascaded optical parametric amplifier concept ( Figure 2) relied on optical pulses derived from a 6 nm bandwidth Yb:KYW regenerative amplifier delivering temporally-stretched pulses with up to 5 mJ output energy [25]. Approximately 1 mJ of energy was used for this experiment, the leftover being used for other experiments not described here.…”

Section: Cascaded Optical Parametric Amplifiermentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequency-shifted sources for terahertz-driven linear electron acceleration

Hemmer

Cirmi

Ravi

et al. 2018

Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials and Devices XVII

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The generation of THz-frequency radiation via nonlinear parametric frequency down-conversion has long been driven by the spectroscopy and imaging communities. As a result, little efforts have been undertaken toward the generation of high energy THz-frequency pulses. THz-frequency radiation has however recently been identified has a promising driver for strong-field physics and an emerging generation of compact particle accelerators. These accelerators require THzfrequency pulses with energies in the multi-millijoule range therefore demanding orders of magnitude improvements from the current state-of-the-art. Much can be gained by improving the intrinsically low efficiency of the down-conversion process while still resorting to existing state-of-the-art lasers. However, the fundamental Manley-Rowe limit caps the efficiency of parametric downconversion from 1-µm wavelength lasers to sub-THz frequency to the sub-percent range. We present methods that promise boosting the THz radiation yield obtained via parametric down-conversion beyond the Manley-Rowe limit. Our method relies on cascaded nonlinear three-wave mixing between two spectrally neighboring laser pulses in periodically poled Lithium Niobate. Owing to favorable phase-matching, the down-conversion process avalanches, resulting in spectral broadening in the optical domain. This allows in-situ coherent multiplexing of multiple parametric down-conversion stages within a single device and boosting the efficiency of the process beyond the ManleyRowe limit. We experimentally demonstrated the concept using either broadband, spectrally chirped optical pulses from a Joule-class laser or using two narrowband lasers with neighboring wavelengths. Experimental results are backed by numerical simulations that predict conversion efficiencies from 1 µm to sub-THz radiation in the multi-percent range.

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“…Another approach is to drive OR with intensity-modulated laser pulses such that the produced THz waveform can follow the intensity envelope of the modulated laser pulse [19]. Other methods include transient polarization gratings [20], TPF planer waveguides [21], and cascaded second-order processes [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multicycle terahertz pulse generation by optical rectification in LiNbO$_3$, LiTaO$_3$, and BBO crystals

Jang,

Kim

2020

Preprint

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We report multicycle, narrowband, terahertz radiation at 14.8 THz produced by phasematched optical rectification of femtosecond laser pulses in bulk lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals. Our experiment and simulation show that the output terahertz energy greatly enhances when the input laser pulse is highly chirped, contrary to a common optical rectification process. We find this abnormal behavior is attributed to a linear electro-optic (or Pockels) effect, in which the laser pulse propagating in LiNbO3 is modulated by the terahertz field it produces, and this in turn drives optical rectification more effectively to produce the terahertz field. This resonant cascading effect can greatly increase terahertz conversion efficiencies when the input laser pulse is properly pre-chirped with additional third order dispersion. We also observe similar multicycle terahertz emission from lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) at 14 THz and barium borate (BBO) at 7 THz, 10.6 THz, and 14.6 THz, all produced by narrowband phase-matched optical rectification.

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

Cited by 16 publications

References 57 publications

On the effect of third-order dispersion on phase-matched terahertz generation via interfering chirped pulses

On the effect of third-order dispersion on phase-matched terahertz generation via interfering chirped pulses

Frequency-shifted sources for terahertz-driven linear electron acceleration

Multicycle terahertz pulse generation by optical rectification in LiNbO$_3$, LiTaO$_3$, and BBO crystals

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