High field, high efficiency terahertz pulse generation by optical rectification

The great difficulty of producing high intensity radiation in the terahertz (THz) spectral region by conventional electronics has stimulated interest in development of sources based on photonics. Optical rectification in lithium niobate is an attractive approach, because it supports high generation efficiencies, uses low cost, bulk LN crystals, and is powered by common Yb-doped lasers at wavelengths of around 1 Pm. In this work, a theoretical framework for THz generation by optical rectification is developed. Several novel methods for optimizing the generation efficiency are shown, including pump beam imaging, pump pulse optimization, cryogenic cooling, and THz antirefiection coating. Finally, experimental results will be presented showing a THz generation efficiency of 3.7%, which is 10x higher than current state-of-the-art. The generated few-cycle THz pulses can be used for coherent control of electrons, setting the stage for compact, table-top accelerators.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Huang, Wenqian Ronny

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Franz X. Kä̈rtner and Erich P. Ippen.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87946

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/87946