Efficient generation of high-power quasi-single-cycle terahertz pulses from a single infrared beam in a second-order nonlinear medium

Opt Lett. 2004 Nov 15;29(22):2650-2. doi: 10.1364/ol.29.002650.

Abstract

It is shown that the coherence lengths for terahertz (THz) generation based on difference-frequency generation within an ultrafast infrared pulse can be sufficiently long for a wide bandwidth about each phase-matching wavelength owing to a slight dispersion in the THz region. As a result, quasi-single-cycle THz pulses can be efficiently generated. An efficient conversion for the parametric process is made possible not only by use of the wide phase-matching bandwidth but also by optimization of the pulse width for each peak THz frequency. I have investigated the strong-pump regime and found the limits to the conversion efficiencies to generate high peak intensities efficiently for THz waves with which to explore nonlinear regimes of the THz interactions.