Broadband THz Sources from Gases to Liquids
Abstract
Matters are generally classified within four states: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Three of the four states of matter (solid, gas, and plasma) have been used for THz wave generation with short laser pulse excitation for decades, including the recent vigorous development of THz photonics in gases (air plasma). However, the demonstration of THz generation from liquids was conspicuously absent. It is well known that water, the most common liquid, is a strong absorber in the far infrared range. Therefore, liquid water has historically been sworn off as a source for THz radiation. Recently, broadband THz wave generation from a flowing liquid target has been experimentally demonstrated through laser-induced microplasma. The liquid target as the THz source presents unique properties. Specifically, liquids have the comparable material density to that of solids, meaning that laser pulses over a certain area will interact with three orders more molecules than an equivalent cross-section of gases. In contrast with solid targets, the fluidity of liquid allows every laser pulse to interact with a fresh area on the target, meaning that material damage or degradation is not an issue with the high-repetition rate intense laser pulses. These make liquids very promising candidates for the investigation of high-energy-density plasma, as well as the possibility of being the next generation of THz sources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.34133/2021/9892763
Entities
People
- Anton Tcypkin
- Cunlin Zhang
- Liangliang Zhang
- Sergey Kozlov
- Xi-Cheng Zhang
- Yiwen E
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Army Research Office
- Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation
- Capital Normal University
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Science Foundation
- Russian Science Foundation
- Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics
- University of Rochester