Issue 25, 2024

Toward high-power terahertz radiation sources based on ultrafast lasers

Abstract

The development of new photon sources has propelled scientific and technological breakthroughs across disciplines, ranging from atomic physics and quantum technology to optoelectronics, chemistry, and biomedical devices. This is particularly evident with emerging photon sources of previously unattainable high power, allowing for the clear deconvolution of semiconductor energy states and the elucidation of the dynamics of quasi-particles and molecular vibrations. Terahertz (THz) radiation, once considered a gap in the electromagnetic spectrum, has become readily accessible with advancements in ultrafast optics. While various sources and detectors are available, their output intensity based on typical femtosecond lasers remains still limited to approximately 0.5 mW at 1 THz, constraining their widespread applications. In this review, we explore the main mechanisms and recent advancements in THz radiation generation using nonlinear optics, optoelectronics, and plasma. We summarize their characteristics by examining their performance across different optical configurations. Additionally, we review a novel approach utilizing acoustic waves, initially proposed approximately 15 years ago, but only limited subsequent progress has been made. We delineate the challenges associated with this approach and propose potential solutions, highlighting the significance of further investigation and improvement, which could potentially catalyze a breakthrough in this field.

Graphical abstract: Toward high-power terahertz radiation sources based on ultrafast lasers

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
12 apr 2024
Accepted
29 mei 2024
First published
30 mei 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024,12, 9002-9011

Toward high-power terahertz radiation sources based on ultrafast lasers

W. J. Choi, M. R. Armstrong, J. H. Yoo and T. Lee, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, 12, 9002 DOI: 10.1039/D4TC01502A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements