基于超快激光技术的THz波产生和探测

摘要/Abstract

摘要： 主要介绍利用超快激光技术产生和探测THz波辐射。THz波探测方法包括电光取样和空气探测。电光取样利用光学电光效应，采用探测激光偏振态的改变得到THz电场时域波形，广泛应用在TDS系统中。空气探测方法利用激光在空气中的三阶非线性效应，可以测得THz时域波形，并且该方法没有晶体的限制，因此可以探测频谱较宽的THz脉冲。产生THz的方法主要包括光电导天线、光学Dember效应、光整流和激光等离子体。其中前三者受到材料本征声子的影响，产生的THz谱宽有一定限制。倾斜激光脉冲波前入射非线性晶体光整流可以产生很强的THz波。双色飞秒激光脉冲与空气等离子体作用，可以产生较强的宽谱THz辐射，并且其谱宽与激光脉冲宽度密切相关。

关键词: 光电子学, THz波, 电光取样, 空气探测, 光电导天线, 光学Dember效应, 光整流, 空气等离子体

Abstract: Terahertz (THz) waves generation and detection methods based upon ultrafast laser technology are introduced. The detection methods include free-space electro-optic sampling (EO) and air-biased-coherent-detection (ABCD). EO is based upon the electro-optic effect and it can detect THz time waveform by measuring the change of the probe laser polarization. ABCD is an three-order nonlinear optics effect and there is no frequency limitation for ABCD so it can detect broad bandwidth THz pulses. THz generation from photoconductor antenna, optical Dember effect, optical rectification and laser air-plasma interaction are introduced. And the properties of THz generation from them are discussed. Optics rectification with tilted pump laser pulses front excitation can generate strong THz emission. The THz pulses bandwidths are limited in the former three methods while it is broader from laser air-plasma interaction.

Key words: optoelectronics, THz waves, electro-optic sampling, air-biased-coherent-detection, photoconductor antenna, optical Dember effect, optical rectification, air-plasma

中图分类号:

杜海伟. 基于超快激光技术的THz波产生和探测[J]. J4, 2013, 30(3): 257-267.

DU Hai-wei. Terahertz wave generation and detection based upon ultrafast laser technology[J]. J4, 2013, 30(3): 257-267.

参考文献

[1] Williams G. Filling the THz gap-high power sources and applications [J]. Rep. Prog. Phys., 2006, 69: 301-326.
[2] Reimann K. Table top sources of ultrashort THz pulses [J]. Rep. Prog. Phys., 2007, 70: 1597-1632.
[3] Jepsen P, Cooke D, Koch M. THz spectroscopy and imaging-modern techniques and applications [J]. Laser Photonics Rev., 2011, 5(1): 124-166.
[4] Zhang Cunlin. Terahertz sensing and imaging [M]. National Defence Industry Press, 2008, 13-20 (in Chinese).
[5] Zhang Lei, Xu Xin-long, Li Fu-li. Review of the progress of T-ray imaging [J]. Chinese Journal of Quantum Electronics (量子电子学报), 2005, 22(2): 129-134 (in Chinese).
[6] Zhang Huaiwu. Research of terahertz science and technology in China [J]. China Basic Science (中国基础科学), 2008, 1:15-20 (in Chinese).
[7] Chan W L, Deibel J, Mittleman D. Imaging with terahertz radiation [J]. Rep. Prog. Phys., 2007, 70(8): 1325-1379.
[8] Ulbricht R, Hendry E, Shan J, et al. Carrier dynamics in semiconductors studied with time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy [J]. Rev. Mod. Phys., 2011, 83(2): 543.
[9] Schmuttenmaer C. Exploring dynamics in the far-infrared with terahertz spectroscopy [J]. Chem. Rev., 2004, 104: 1759-1779.
[10] Ferguson B, Zhang X C. Materials for terahertz science and technology [J]. Nat. Materials, 2002, 1: 26-33.
[11] Hoffmann M, Fulop J. Intense. Intense ultrashort terahertz pulses: generation and applications [J]. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 2011, 44: 083001.
[12] Hebling J, Yeh Ka-lo, Hoffmann C, et al. High-power THz generation, THz nonlinear optics, and THz nonlinear spectroscopy [J]. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron., 2008, 14: 345-353.
[13] Xue Bing, Fan Wen-hui, Liu Hai-liang, et al. THz generation and detection on the technology of ultra-fast femto-second laser [J]. Acta, Photonics Sinica (光子学报), 2008, 37(S2): 1-5 (in Chinese).
[14] Sun Bo, Yao Jian-quan. Generation of terahertz wave based on optical methods [J]. Chinese Journal of Lasers (中国激光), 2006, 33: 1349-1360 (in Chinese).
[15] Wu Q, Zhang X C. Free-space electro-optic sampling of terahertz beams [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1995, 67(24): 3523-3525.
[16] Nahata A, Auston D, Heinz T, et al. Coherent detection of freely propagation terahertz radiation by electro-optic sampling [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1996, 68(2): 150-152.
[17] Jepsen P, Winnewisser C, Schall M, et al. Detection of THz pulses by phase retardation in lithium tantalite [J]. Phys. Rev. E, 1996, 53(4): 53-58.
[18] Smith F, Le H, Diadiuk V, et al. Picosecond GaAs-based photoconductive optoelectronic detectors [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1989, 54(10): 890-892.
[19] Fattinger C, Grischkowsky D. Point sources terahertz optics [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1989, 53(16): 1480-1482.
[20] Jiang Z, Zhang X C. Electro-optic measurement of THz field pulse with a chirped optical beam [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1998, 72(16): 1945-1947.
[21] Shang J, Weling A, Knoesel E, et al. Single-shot measurement of terahertz electromagnetic pulses by use of electro-optic sampling [J] . Opt. Lett., 2000, 25(6): 426-428.
[22] Steven J, Shen Jingling, Macleod A, et al. High-temporal-resolution, single-shot characterization of terahertz pulses [J]. Opt. Lett., 2003, 28(18):1710-1712.
[23] Dai Jianming, Xie Xu, Zhang X C. Detection of broadband terahertz waves with a laser induced plasma in gas [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2006, 97(10): 103903.
[24] Karpowicz N, Dai Jianming, Lu Xiaofei, et al. Coherent heterodyne time-domain spectrometry coving the entire THz gap [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2008, 92(1): 011131.
[25] Becker E, Farrar T. Fourier Transform spectroscopy [J]. Science, 1972, 178: 361-368.
[26] Chen Q, M. Tani, Jiang Zhiping, et al. Electro-optic transceivers for terahertz wave applications [J]. J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 2001, 18(6): 823-831.
[27] Wu Q, Zhang X C. 7 terahertz broadband GaP electro-optic sensor [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1997, 70(14): 1784-1786.
[28] Wu Q, Zhang X C. Ultrafast electro-optic field sensors [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1996, 68(12): 1604-1606.
[29] Dai Jianming, Liu Jingle, Zhang X C. Terahertz wave air photonics: terahertz wave generation and detection with laser-induce gas plasma [J]. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron., 2011, 17(1): 183-190.
[30] Dai Jianming, Clough B, Ho I-Chen, et al. Recent progress in terahertz wave air photonics [J]. IEEE Tran. On. Terahertz Science and Technology, 2011, 1(1): 274-281.
[31] Sheng Zheng-Ming, Wu Hui-Chun, Wang Wei-Min, et al. Simulation of high power THz emission from laser interaction with tenuous plasma and a gas targets [J]. Commun. Comput. Phys., 2008, 4(5): 1258-1278.
[32] Chin S L, Theberge F, Liu W. Filamentation nonlinear optics [J]. Appl. Phys. B, 2007, 86: 477-483.
[33] Couairon A, Mysyrowicz A. Femtosecond filamentation in transparent media [J]. Phys. Rep., 2007, 441: 47-189.
[34] Auston D, Cheung K, Smith P. Picosecond photoconducting Hertzian dipoles [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1984, 54(3): 284-286.
[35] Smith P, Auston D, Nuss M. Subpicosecond photoconducting dipole antennas [J]. IEEE J. Quantum Electron., 1988, 24(2): 255-162.
[36] Darrow J, Zhang X C, Auston D. Power scaling of large-aperture photoconducting antennas [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1991, 58(1): 25-27.
[37] Darrow J, Zhang X C, Auston D. Saturation properties of large aperture photoconducting antennas [J]. IEEE J. Quantum Electron., 1992, 28(6): 1607-1616.
[38] Grischkowsky D, Keiding S, Exter M, et al. Far-infrared time domain spectrocopy with THz beams of dielectrics and semiconductors [J]. J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 1990, 7(10): 2006-2015.
[39] Tani M, Matsuura S, Sakai K, et al. Emission characteristics of photoconductive antennas based on low temperature grown GaAs and semi-insulating GaAs [J]. Appl. Opt., 1997, 36(30): 7853-7859.
[40] Klatt G, Hilser F, Qiao W, et al. Terahertz emission from lateral photo-Dember currents [J]. Opt. Express, 2010, 18(5): 4939-4947.
[41] Sun Hong-qi, Zhao Guo-zhong, Zhang Cun-lin, et al. The characteristics of terahertz radiation from InAs irradiated with femtosecond optical pulses of different wavelengths [J]. Acta Physica Sinica (物理学报), 2008, 57(2): 790-794 (in Chinese).
[42] Reid M, Fedosejevs R. Terahertz emission from (100) InAs surfaces at high excitation fluencies [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2005, 86(1): 011906.
[43] Gu Ping, Tani M, Kono S, et al. Study of terahertz radiation from InAs and InSb [J]. J. Appl. Phys., 2002, 91(9): 5533-5538.
[44] Heyman J, Neocleous P, Hebert D, et al. Terahertz emission from GaAs and InAs in a magnetic field [J]. Phys. Rev B, 2001, 64(8): 085202.
[45] Xu L, Zhang X C, Auston D. THz beam generation by femtosecond optical pulse in electro-optic materials [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1992, 61(15): 1784-17886.
[46] Loffler T, Hahn T, Thomson M, et al. Large-area electro-optic ZnTe terahertz emitters [J]. Opt. Express, 2005, 13(14): 5353-5362.
[47] Liu Rui, Gu Chun-ming, He Li-rong, et al. Generation of terahertz radiation via optical rectification and electro-optic detection in ZnTe crystals [J]. Acta Physica Sinica (物理学报), 2004, 53(4): 1217-1222 (in Chinese).
[48] Zhang X C, Jin Y, Ma X F. Coherent measurement of THz optical rectification from electro-optic crystals [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 1992, 61(23): 2764-2766.
[49] Hebling J, Stepanov A, Almasi G, et al. Tunable THz pulse generation by optical rectification of ultrashort laser pulses with tilted pulse fronts [J]. Appl. Phys. B, 2004, 78: 593-599.
[50] Fulop J, Palfalvi L, Almasi G, et al. Design of high energy terahertz sources based on optical rectification [J]. Opt. Express, 2010, 18(12): 12311-12317.
[51] Yeh K L, Hoffmann M, Hebling J, et al. Generation of 10 ?J ultrashort terahertz pulses by optical rectification [J].?Appl. Phys. Lett., 2007, 90(17): 171121.
[52] Bakunov M, Bodrov S, Mashkovich E. Terahertz generation with tilted-front laser pulses: dynamics theory for low-absorbing crystals [J]. J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 2011, 28(7): 1724-1734.
[53] Hirori H, Doi A, Blanchard F, et al. Single-cycle terahertz pulses with amplitudes exceeding 1 MV/cm generated by optical rectification in LiNbO3 [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2011, 98(9): 091106.
[54] Hamster H, Sullivan A, Gordon S, et al. Subpicosecond electromagnetic pulses from intense laser plasma interaction [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 1993, 71(17): 2725-2728.
[55] Cook D, Hochstrasser R. Intense THz pulses by four wave rectification in air [J]. Opt. Lett., 2000, 25(16): 1210-1212.
[56] Amico C, Houard A, Franco M, et al. Conical forward THz emission from femtosecond laser beam filamentation in air [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2007, 98(23): 235002.
[57] Xie Xu, Dai Jianming, Zhang X C. Coherent control of THz wave generation in ambient air [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2006, 96(7): 075005.
[58] Bartel T, Gaal P, Reimann K, et al. Generation of single cycle THz transients with high electric field amplitudes [J]. Opt. Lett., 2005, 30(20): 2805-2807.
[59] Kim K, Glownia J, Taylor A, et al. THz emission from ultrafast ionizing air in symmetry-broken laser fields [J]. Opt. Express, 2007, 15(8): 4577-4584.
[60] Karpowicz N, Zhang X C. Coherent terahertz echo of tunnel ionization in gases [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2009, 102(9): 093001.
[61] Dietze D, Darmo J, Roither S, et al. Polarization of THz radiation from laser generated plasma filaments [J]. J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 2009, 26(11): 2016-2027.
[62] Wen Haidan, Lindenberg A. Coherent terahertz polarization control through manipulation of electron trajectories [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2009, 103(2): 023902.
[63] Du H W, Peng X Y, Zhang K Y, et al. THz radiation from air plasma produced with aperture-limited two-color lasers [J]. Terahertz Science &Technology, 2011, 4: 46-49.
[64] Karpowicz N, Lu Xiaofei, Zhang X C. Terahertz gas photonics [J]. J. Modern Optics, 2009, 56(10): 1137-1150.
[65] Du H W, Chen M, Sheng Z M, et al. Numerical studies on terahertz radiation generated from two-color laser pulse interaction with gas targets [J]. Laser. Part. Beams, 2011, 29: 447-452.
[66] Babushkin I, Kuehn W, Kohler C, et al. Ultrafast Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Terahertz Generation by Ionizing Two-Color Femtosecond Pulses in Gases [J]. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2010, 105(6): 053903.
[67] Thomson M, Kre???, Loffler T, et al. Broadband THz emission from gas plasmas induced by femtosecond optical pulses: from fundamentals to applications [J]. Laser &Photon. Rev. 2007, 1(5): 349-368.
[68] Wang Tie-Jun, Chen Yanping, Marceau C, et al. High energy THz emission from two color laser induced filamentation in air with pump pulse duration control [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2009, 95(13): 131108.
[69] Blanchard F, Sharma G, Ropagnol X, et al. Improved terahertz two-color plasma sources pumped by high intensity laser beam [J]. Opt. Express, 2009, 17(8): 6044-?????
[70] Peng Xiao-Yu, Li Chun, Chen Min, et al. Strong terahertz radiation from air plasmas generated by an aperture limited Gaussian pump laser beam [J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2009, 94(10): 101502.
[71] Rodriguez G, Dakovski G. Scaling behavior of ultrafast two-color THz generation in plasma gas targets energy and pressure dependence [J]. Opt. Express, 2010, 18(14): 15130-15143.