Abstract-Terahertz generation with tilted-front laser pulses in a contact-grating scheme

Michael I. Bakunov and Sergey B. Bodrov  »View Author Affiliations

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josab/abstract.cfm?URI=josab-31-11-2549

JOSA B, Vol. 31, Issue 11, pp. 2549-2557 (2014)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.31.002549

We present a detailed analysis of terahertz generation with tilted-front optical pulses in a scheme, where the pulse-front tilt is introduced by transmitting the laser pulse through a diffraction grating placed on the boundary of an electro-optic crystal. The analysis accounts for a finite transverse size of the pump laser beam, initial chirp of the laser pulse, and distortion of the tilted-front pulse in the crystal due to angular and material dispersion. Two situations of practical interest are explored—LiNbO3 pumped at 0.8 μm wavelength and GaAs pumped at 1.8 μm. Recommendations on increasing the efficiency of the optical-to-terahertz conversion, optimizing the generated terahertz spectrum, and improving the quality of the terahertz beam are given.

© 2014 Optical Society of America