Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Broadband ultrashort terahertz (THz) pulses can be produced using plasma generation in a noble gas ionized by femtosecond two-color pulses. Here we demonstrate that, by using multiple-frequency laser pulses, one can obtain a waveform which optimizes the free electron trajectories in such a way that they acquire the largest drift velocity. This allows us to increase the THz conversion efficiency to 2%, an unprecedented performance for THz generation in gases. In addition to the analytical study of THz generation using a local current model, we perform comprehensive 3D simulations accounting for propagation effects which confirm this prediction. Our results show that THz conversion via tunnel ionization can be greatly improved with well-designed multicolor pulses.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institutions: Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, CEA DAM Île-de-France, Leibniz University Hannover, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Technische Universität Dresden, Max-Born-Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Award: G3724964027
OpenAlex ID: W2265053489