Abstract
We present a review of the development of a compact and high-power broadband
terahertz (THz) source optically excited by a femtosecond photonic crystal fiber
(PCF) amplifier. The large mode area of the PCF and the stretcher-free configuration
make the pump source compact and very efficient. Broadband THz pulses of 150 µW
extending from 0.1 to 3.5 THz are generated from a 3-mm-thick GaP crystal through
optical rectification of 12-W pump pulses with duration of 66 fs and a repetition
rate of 52 MHz. A strong saturation effect is observed, which is attributed to pump
pulse absorption; a Z-scan measurement shows that three-photon absorption dominates
the nonlinear absorption when the crystal is pumped by femtosecond pulses at 1 040
nm. A further scale-up of the THz source power is expected to find important
applications in THz nonlinear optics and nonlinear THz spectroscopy.
© 2011 Chinese Optics Letters
PDF Article
More Like This
Cited By
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription