November 2016
Spotlight Summary by Jean-Baptiste Masson
Simple and distortion-free optical sampling of terahertz pulses via heterodyne detection schemes
Even though Terahertz (THz) optics is becoming more accessible, detecting and characterizing THz radiation remains a technical challenge. In this JOSAB paper Degert et al. introduce two new methods to detect THz radiation with significant advantages when compared to classical Electro Optic sampling. Both methods rely on a mix of geometric arrangements of the optical setup linked to polarization states of the optical/THz beam and on the optical heterodyne detection principle. Heterodyne detection uses a non-linear mixture of optical signals to extract information on the beam of interest. The first method allows characterizing the THz signal in a single measurement whereas the second one, based on the Pockels effect Induced Second Harmonic (PISH), offers an efficient way to probe THz signals generated by a setup pumped by near-infrared lasers. Both methods exhibit good enhancement factor and limited distortion of the THz beam.
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Article Information
Simple and distortion-free optical sampling of terahertz pulses via heterodyne detection schemes
Jérôme Degert, Marion Cornet, Emmanuel Abraham, and Eric Freysz
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 33(10) 2045-2050 (2016) View: Abstract | HTML | PDF