We report the magneto-optical response of Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG) and Gadolinium Scandium Gallium Garnet (SGGG) at frequencies ranging from 300GHz to 1THz, and determine the material response tensor. Within this frequency window, the materials exhibit nondispersive and low-loss optical responses. At low temperatures, significant THz Faraday rotations are found in the (S)GGG samples. Such strong gyroelectric response is likely associated with the high-spin paramagnetic state of the Gd3+ ions. A model of the material response tensor is determined, together with the Verdet and magneto-optic constants.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14206-x
Extreme nonlinear interactions of THz electromagnetic fields with matter are the next frontier in nonlinear optics. However, reaching this frontier in free space is limited by the existing lack of appropriate powerful THz sources. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that two-color filamentation of femtosecond mid-infrared laser pulses at 3.9 μm allows one to generate ultrashort sub-cycle THz pulses with sub-milijoule energy and THz conversion efficiency of 2.36%, resulting in THz field amplitudes above 100 MV cm−1. Our numerical simulations predict that the observed THz yield can be significantly upscaled by further optimizing the experimental setup. Finally, in order to demonstrate the strength of our THz source, we show that the generated THz pulses are powerful enough to induce nonlinear cross-phase modulation in electro-optic crystals. Our work paves the way toward free space extreme nonlinear THz optics using affordable table-top laser systems.
