Impulsive terahertz radiation with high electric fields from an amplifier-driven large-area photoconductive antenna
Optics Express, Vol. 18, Issue 9, pp. 9251-9257 (2010)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.18.009251
Acrobat PDF (809 KB)
Abstract
We report on the generation of impulsive terahertz (THz) radiation with 36 kV/cm vacuum electric field (1.5 mW average thermal power) at 250 kHz repetition rate and a high NIR-to-THz conversion efficiency of 2 × 10-3. This is achieved by photoexciting biased large-area photoconductive emitter with NIR fs pulses of μJ pulse energy. We demonstrate focussing of the THz beam by tailoring the pulse front of the exciting laser beam without any focussing element for the THz beam. A high dynamic range of 104 signal-to-noise is obtained with an amplifier based system.
© 2010 Optical Society of America
1. Introduction
G. Klatt, F. Hilser, W. Quiao, M. Beck, R. Gebs, A. Bartels, K. Huska, U. Lemmer, G. Bastian, M. B. Johnston, M. Fischer, J. Faist, and T. Dekorsy, “Terahertz emission from lateral photo-Dember currents”, Opt. Express 18(5), 4939–4947 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
A. Sell, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Huber, “Phase-locked generation and field-resolved detection of widely tunable terahertz pulses with amplitudes exceeding 100 MV/cm,” Opt. Lett. 33, 2767–2769 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
T. Bartel, P. Gaal, K. Reimann, M. Woerner, and T. Elsaesser, “Generation of single-cycle THz transients with high electric-field amplitudes,” Opt. Lett. 30, 2805–2807 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, J. Hebling, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of 10 μJ ultrashort terahertz pulses by optical rectification,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 171121–1 (2007). [CrossRef]
K.-L. Yeh, J. Hebling, M. C. Hoffmann, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high average power 1 kHz shaped THz pulses via optical rectification,” Opt. Commun. 281, 3567–3570 (2008). [CrossRef]
J. Hebling, K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, B. Bartal, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high-power terahertz pulses by tilted-pulse-front excitation and their application possibilities,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25, B6–B19 (2008). [CrossRef]
M. Jewariya, M. Nagai, and K. Tanaka, “Enhancement of terahertz wave generation by cascaded χ (2) processes in LiNbO3 ,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B. 26, A101–A106 (2009). [CrossRef]
G. Zhao, R. N. Schouten, N. van der Valk, W. Th. Wenckebach, and P. C. M. Planken, “Design and performance of a THz emission and detection setup based on a semi-insulating GaAs emitter”, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 1715–1719 (2002). [CrossRef]
A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, M. Helm, and T. Dekorsy, “Optimum excitation conditions for the generation of high-electric-field terahertz radiation from an oscillator-driven photoconductive device,” Opt. Lett. 31, 1546–1548 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
G. Matthäus, S. Nolte, Rico Hohmuth, M. Voitsch, W. Richter, B. Pradarutti, S. Riehemann, G. Notni, and A. Tünnermann, “Microlens coupled interdigital photoconductive switch,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091110–1 (2008). [CrossRef]
T. Hattori, K. Egawa, S.-I. Ookuma, and T. Itatani, “Intense terahertz pulses from large-aperture antenna with interdigitated electrodes,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, L422–L424 (2006). [CrossRef]
2. Setup Scheme
A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, T. Dekorsy, and M. Helm, “High-intensity terahertz radiation from a microstructured large-area photoconductor,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 121114–1 (2005). [CrossRef]
B. B. Hu, J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and P. R. Smith, “Optically steerable photoconducting antennas,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 886–888 (1990). [CrossRef]
A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Femtosecond high-field transport in compound semiconductors,” Phys. Rev. B 61, 16642–16652 (2000). [CrossRef]
G. Cho, W. Kütt, and H. Kurz, “Subpicosecond time-resolved coherent-phonon oscillations in GaAs,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 764–766 (1990). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
3. Results
A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Detectors and sources for ultrabroadband electro-optic sampling: Experiment and theory,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 1516–1518 (1999). [CrossRef]
J. Hebling, K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, B. Bartal, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high-power terahertz pulses by tilted-pulse-front excitation and their application possibilities,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25, B6–B19 (2008). [CrossRef]
A. E. Iverson, G. M. Wysin, D. L. Smith, and A. Redondo, “Overshoot in the response of a photoconductor excited by subpicosecond pulses,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 52, 2148–2150 (1988). [CrossRef]
J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and J. D. Morse, “Saturation properties of large-aperture photoconduc-tive antennas,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 28, 1607–1616 (1992). [CrossRef]
Z. Piao, M. Tani, and Sakai Kiyomi, “Carrier dynamics and terahertz radiation in photoconductive antennas,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 39, 96–100 (2000). [CrossRef]
D. S. Kim and D. S. Citrin, “Coulomb and radiation screening in photoconductive terahertz sources,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 161117–1 (2006). [CrossRef]
A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Femtosecond high-field transport in compound semiconductors,” Phys. Rev. B 61, 16642–16652 (2000). [CrossRef]
J.-H. Son, T. B. Norris, and J. F. Whitaker, “Terahertz electromagnetic pulses as probes for transient velocity overshoot in GaAs and Si,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 11, 2519–2527 (1994). [CrossRef]
A. E. Iverson, G. M. Wysin, D. L. Smith, and A. Redondo, “Overshoot in the response of a photoconductor excited by subpicosecond pulses,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 52, 2148–2150 (1988). [CrossRef]
J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and J. D. Morse, “Saturation properties of large-aperture photoconduc-tive antennas,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 28, 1607–1616 (1992). [CrossRef]
M. B. Johnston, D. M. Whittaker, A. Corchia, A. G. Davies, and E. H. Linfield, “Simulation of terahertz generation at semiconductor surfaces,” Phys. Rev. B 65, 165301–1 (2002). [CrossRef]
A. E. Iverson, G. M. Wysin, D. L. Smith, and A. Redondo, “Overshoot in the response of a photoconductor excited by subpicosecond pulses,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 52, 2148–2150 (1988). [CrossRef]
J. K. Luo, H. Thomas, D. V. Morgan, D. Westwood, and R. H. Williams, “The electrical breakdown properties of GaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low temperature,” Semicond. Sci. Technol. 9, 2199–2204 (1994). [CrossRef]
A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Femtosecond high-field transport in compound semiconductors,” Phys. Rev. B 61, 16642–16652 (2000). [CrossRef]
J.-H. Son, T. B. Norris, and J. F. Whitaker, “Terahertz electromagnetic pulses as probes for transient velocity overshoot in GaAs and Si,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 11, 2519–2527 (1994). [CrossRef]
4. Conclusion
T. Hattori, K. Egawa, S.-I. Ookuma, and T. Itatani, “Intense terahertz pulses from large-aperture antenna with interdigitated electrodes,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, L422–L424 (2006). [CrossRef]
A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, M. Helm, and T. Dekorsy, “Optimum excitation conditions for the generation of high-electric-field terahertz radiation from an oscillator-driven photoconductive device,” Opt. Lett. 31, 1546–1548 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
5. Acknowledgements
References and links
B. Ferguson and X.-C. Zhang, “Materials for terahertz science and technology, Nat. Mater. 1 ,” 26–33 (2002). | |
G. Klatt, F. Hilser, W. Quiao, M. Beck, R. Gebs, A. Bartels, K. Huska, U. Lemmer, G. Bastian, M. B. Johnston, M. Fischer, J. Faist, and T. Dekorsy, “Terahertz emission from lateral photo-Dember currents”, Opt. Express 18(5), 4939–4947 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed] | |
A. Sell, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Huber, “Phase-locked generation and field-resolved detection of widely tunable terahertz pulses with amplitudes exceeding 100 MV/cm,” Opt. Lett. 33, 2767–2769 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed] | |
T. Bartel, P. Gaal, K. Reimann, M. Woerner, and T. Elsaesser, “Generation of single-cycle THz transients with high electric-field amplitudes,” Opt. Lett. 30, 2805–2807 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed] | |
K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, J. Hebling, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of 10 μJ ultrashort terahertz pulses by optical rectification,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 171121–1 (2007). [CrossRef] | |
K.-L. Yeh, J. Hebling, M. C. Hoffmann, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high average power 1 kHz shaped THz pulses via optical rectification,” Opt. Commun. 281, 3567–3570 (2008). [CrossRef] | |
J. Hebling, K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, B. Bartal, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high-power terahertz pulses by tilted-pulse-front excitation and their application possibilities,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25, B6–B19 (2008). [CrossRef] | |
M. Jewariya, M. Nagai, and K. Tanaka, “Enhancement of terahertz wave generation by cascaded χ (2) processes in LiNbO3 ,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B. 26, A101–A106 (2009). [CrossRef] | |
G. Zhao, R. N. Schouten, N. van der Valk, W. Th. Wenckebach, and P. C. M. Planken, “Design and performance of a THz emission and detection setup based on a semi-insulating GaAs emitter”, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 1715–1719 (2002). [CrossRef] | |
A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, M. Helm, and T. Dekorsy, “Optimum excitation conditions for the generation of high-electric-field terahertz radiation from an oscillator-driven photoconductive device,” Opt. Lett. 31, 1546–1548 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed] | |
J. Shan and T. F. Heinz, Terahertz radiation from semiconductors (Springer Verlag, 2004). | |
G. Matthäus, S. Nolte, Rico Hohmuth, M. Voitsch, W. Richter, B. Pradarutti, S. Riehemann, G. Notni, and A. Tünnermann, “Microlens coupled interdigital photoconductive switch,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091110–1 (2008). [CrossRef] | |
T. Hattori, K. Egawa, S.-I. Ookuma, and T. Itatani, “Intense terahertz pulses from large-aperture antenna with interdigitated electrodes,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, L422–L424 (2006). [CrossRef] | |
A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, T. Dekorsy, and M. Helm, “High-intensity terahertz radiation from a microstructured large-area photoconductor,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 121114–1 (2005). [CrossRef] | |
B. B. Hu, J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and P. R. Smith, “Optically steerable photoconducting antennas,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 886–888 (1990). [CrossRef] | |
A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Femtosecond high-field transport in compound semiconductors,” Phys. Rev. B 61, 16642–16652 (2000). [CrossRef] | |
G. Cho, W. Kütt, and H. Kurz, “Subpicosecond time-resolved coherent-phonon oscillations in GaAs,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 764–766 (1990). [CrossRef] [PubMed] | |
A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Detectors and sources for ultrabroadband electro-optic sampling: Experiment and theory,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 1516–1518 (1999). [CrossRef] | |
A. E. Iverson, G. M. Wysin, D. L. Smith, and A. Redondo, “Overshoot in the response of a photoconductor excited by subpicosecond pulses,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 52, 2148–2150 (1988). [CrossRef] | |
J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and J. D. Morse, “Saturation properties of large-aperture photoconduc-tive antennas,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 28, 1607–1616 (1992). [CrossRef] | |
Z. Piao, M. Tani, and Sakai Kiyomi, “Carrier dynamics and terahertz radiation in photoconductive antennas,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 39, 96–100 (2000). [CrossRef] | |
D. S. Kim and D. S. Citrin, “Coulomb and radiation screening in photoconductive terahertz sources,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 161117–1 (2006). [CrossRef] | |
J.-H. Son, T. B. Norris, and J. F. Whitaker, “Terahertz electromagnetic pulses as probes for transient velocity overshoot in GaAs and Si,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 11, 2519–2527 (1994). [CrossRef] | |
M. B. Johnston, D. M. Whittaker, A. Corchia, A. G. Davies, and E. H. Linfield, “Simulation of terahertz generation at semiconductor surfaces,” Phys. Rev. B 65, 165301–1 (2002). [CrossRef] | |
J. K. Luo, H. Thomas, D. V. Morgan, D. Westwood, and R. H. Williams, “The electrical breakdown properties of GaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low temperature,” Semicond. Sci. Technol. 9, 2199–2204 (1994). [CrossRef] |
OCIS Codes
(320.7130) Ultrafast optics : Ultrafast processes in condensed matter, including semiconductors
(300.6495) Spectroscopy : Spectroscopy, teraherz
ToC Category:
Ultrafast Optics
History
Original Manuscript: March 8, 2010
Revised Manuscript: April 8, 2010
Manuscript Accepted: April 8, 2010
Published: April 19, 2010
Citation
M. Beck, H. Schäfer, G. Klatt, J. Demsar, S. Winnerl, M. Helm, and T. Dekorsy, "Impulsive terahertz radiation with high electric fields from an amplifier-driven large-area photoconductive antenna," Opt. Express 18, 9251-9257 (2010)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-18-9-9251
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References
- B. Ferguson, and X.-C. Zhang, “Materials for terahertz science and technology, Nat. Mater. 1,” 26-33 (2002).
- G. Klatt, F. Hilser, W. Quiao, M. Beck, R. Gebs, A. Bartels, K. Huska, U. Lemmer, G. Bastian, M. B. Johnston, M. Fischer, J. Faist, and T. Dekorsy, “Terahertz emission from lateral photo-Dember currents”, Opt. Express 18(5), 4939-4947 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- A. Sell, A. Leitenstorfer, and R. Huber, “Phase-locked generation and field-resolved detection of widely tunable terahertz pulses with amplitudes exceeding 100 MV/cm,” Opt. Lett. 33, 2767-2769 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- T. Bartel, P. Gaal, K. Reimann, M. Woerner, and T. Elsaesser, “Generation of single-cycle THz transients with high electric-field amplitudes,” Opt. Lett. 30, 2805-2807 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, J. Hebling and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of 10 J ultrashort terahertz pulses by optical rectification,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 171121-1 (2007). [CrossRef]
- K.-L. Yeh, J. Hebling, M. C. Hoffmann, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high average power 1 kHz shaped THz pulses via optical rectification,” Opt. Commun. 281, 3567-3570 (2008). [CrossRef]
- J. Hebling, K.-L. Yeh, M. C. Hoffmann, B. Bartal, and K. A. Nelson, “Generation of high-power terahertz pulses by tilted-pulse-front excitation and their application possibilities,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25, B6-B19 (2008). [CrossRef]
- M. Jewariya, M. Nagai, and K. Tanaka, “Enhancement of terahertz wave generation by cascaded |(2) processes in LiNbO3,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B. 26, A101-A106 (2009). [CrossRef]
- G. Zhao, R. N. Schouten, N. van der Valk, W. Th. Wenckebach, and P. C. M. Planken, “Design and performance of a THz emission and detection setup based on a semi-insulating GaAs emitter”, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 1715-1719 (2002). [CrossRef]
- A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, M. Helm, and T. Dekorsy, “Optimum excitation conditions for the generation of highelectric-field terahertz radiation from an oscillator-driven photoconductive device,” Opt. Lett. 31, 1546-1548 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- J. Shan, and T. F. Heinz, Terahertz radiation from semiconductors (Springer Verlag, 2004).
- G. Matthäus, S. Nolte, Rico Hohmuth, M. Voitsch, W. Richter, B. Pradarutti, S. Riehemann, G. Notni, and A. Tünnermann, “Microlens coupled interdigital photoconductive switch,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 091110-1 (2008). [CrossRef]
- T. Hattori, K. Egawa, S.-I. Ookuma, and T. Itatani, “Intense terahertz pulses from large-aperture antenna with interdigitated electrodes,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, L422-L424 (2006). [CrossRef]
- A. Dreyhaupt, S. Winnerl, T. Dekorsy, and M. Helm, “High-intensity terahertz radiation from a microstructured large-area photoconductor,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 121114-1 (2005). [CrossRef]
- B. B. Hu, J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and P. R. Smith, “Optically steerable photoconducting antennas,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 886-888 (1990). [CrossRef]
- A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Femtosecond high-field transport in compound semiconductors,” Phys. Rev. B 61, 16642-16652 (2000). [CrossRef]
- G. Cho,W. Kütt, and H. Kurz, “Subpicosecond time-resolved coherent-phonon oscillations in GaAs,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 764-766 (1990). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- A. Leitenstorfer, S. Hunsche, J. Shah, M. C. Nuss, and W. H. Knox, “Detectors and sources for ultrabroadband electro-optic sampling: Experiment and theory,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 1516-1518 (1999). [CrossRef]
- A. E. Iverson, G. M. Wysin, D. L. Smith, and A. Redondo, “Overshoot in the response of a photoconductor excited by subpicosecond pulses,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 52, 2148-2150 (1988). [CrossRef]
- J. T. Darrow, X.-C. Zhang, D. H. Auston, and J. D. Morse, “Saturation properties of large-aperture photoconductive antennas,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 28, 1607-1616 (1992). [CrossRef]
- Z. Piao, M. Tani, and K. Sakai, “Carrier dynamics and terahertz radiation in photoconductive antennas,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 39, 96-100 (2000). [CrossRef]
- D. S. Kim, and D. S. Citrin, “Coulomb and radiation screening in photoconductive terahertz sources,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 161117-1 (2006). [CrossRef]
- J.-H. Son, T. B. Norris, and J. F. Whitaker, “Terahertz electromagnetic pulses as probes for transient velocity overshoot in GaAs and Si,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 11, 2519-2527 (1994). [CrossRef]
- M. B. Johnston, D. M. Whittaker, A. Corchia, A. G. Davies, and E. H. Linfield, “Simulation of terahertz generation at semiconductor surfaces,” Phys. Rev. B 65, 165301-1 (2002). [CrossRef]
- J. K. Luo, H. Thomas, D. V. Morgan, D. Westwood, and R. H. Williams, “The electrical breakdown properties of GaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low temperature,” Semicond. Sci. Technol. 9, 2199-2204 (1994). [CrossRef]
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