Coherent control of terahertz supercontinuum generation in ultrafast laser-gas interactions

被引：710

作者：

Kim, K. Y. ^{[1
]}

Taylor, A. J. ^{[1
]}

Glownia, J. H. ^{[1
]}

Rodriguez, G. ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Los Alamos Natl Lab, Mat Phys & Applicat Div, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA

来源：

NATURE PHOTONICS | 2008年 / 2卷 / 10期

关键词：

D O I：

10.1038/nphoton.2008.153

中图分类号：

O43 [光学];

学科分类号：

070207 ; 0803 ;

摘要：

Frequency mixing an ultrafast-pulse laser's fundamental and second-harmonic fields in semiconductors(1,2), atomic gases(3,4), and on metal surfaces(5) generates a directional electrical current for which the magnitude and polarity depend upon the relative phase between these two fields(1-5). As this current occurs on the timescale of the duration of the laser pulse, in the case of ultrafast lasers (<100 fs), this process can generate electromagnetic radiation at terahertz frequencies. Although such terahertz generation has been observed in semiconductors(6) and air(7-13), the terahertz generation mechanism is not well understood and the terahertz yield has not been optimized. Here, we demonstrate a coherent control scheme to optimize terahertz generation in gases, yielding a new source of high-energy (>5 mu J), super-broadband terahertz radiation (similar to 75 THz) as well as an enhanced accompanying third harmonic. We also present a unifying explanation for such extremely broad electromagnetic radiation generation.

引用

页码：605 / 609

页数：5

共 28 条

[1]

Ammosov M. V., 1986, Soviet Physics - JETP, V64, P1191

[2] TUNNELING IONIZATION OF NOBLE-GASES IN A HIGH-INTENSITY LASER FIELD [J].

AUGST, S ;

STRICKLAND, D ;

MEYERHOFER, DD ;

CHIN, SL ;

EBERLY, JH .

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 1989, 63 (20) :2212-2215

[3] Generation of single-cycle THz transients with high electric-field amplitudes [J].

Bartel, T ;

Gaal, P ;

Reimann, K ;

Woerner, M ;

Elsaesser, T .

OPTICS LETTERS, 2005, 30 (20) :2805-2807

[4] Optimizing high harmonic generation in absorbing gases:: Model and experiment [J].

Constant, E ;

Garzella, D ;

Breger, P ;

Mével, E ;

Dorrer, C ;

Le Blanc, C ;

Salin, F ;

Agostini, P .

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 1999, 82 (08) :1668-1671

[5] Intense terahertz pulses by four-wave rectification in air [J].

Cook, DJ ;

Hochstrasser, RM .

OPTICS LETTERS, 2000, 25 (16) :1210-1212

[6] PLASMA PERSPECTIVE ON STRONG-FIELD MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION [J].

CORKUM, PB .

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 1993, 71 (13) :1994-1997

[7] THz emission from coherently controlled photocurrents in GaAs [J].

Coté, D ;

Fraser, JM ;

DeCamp, M ;

Bucksbaum, PH ;

van Driel, HM .

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, 1999, 75 (25) :3959-3961

[8] Conical forward THz emission from femtosecond-laser-beam filamentation in air [J].

D'Amico, C. ;

Houard, A. ;

Franco, M. ;

Prade, B. ;

Mysyrowicz, A. ;

Couairon, A. ;

Tikhonchuk, V. T. .

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 2007, 98 (23)

[9] Detection of broadband terahertz waves with a laser-induced plasma in gases [J].

Dai, Jianming ;

Xie, Xu ;

Zhang, X. -C. .

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 2006, 97 (10)

[10] Simulations of heating and electron energy distributions in optical field ionized plasmas [J].

Ditmire, T .

PHYSICAL REVIEW E, 1996, 54 (06) :6735-6740

← 1 2 3 →