In this paper, we demonstrate significant enhancement of electro-optic (EO) sampling signal in the detection of pulsed terahertz (THz) waves by using a technique we call “polarization filtering”.
In the EO sampling of pulsed THz waves, a linearly polarized probe optical pulse is phase-modulated by THz electric field through the linear EO effect and, as the result, it becomes slightly elliptically polarized after passing through the EO crystal. The phase-retardation of the probe optical pulse is then detected as an optical intensity modulation (EO signal), dI/I (the ratio of the intensity change, dI, and the original intensity, I) with an appropriate optical detection system.
In “polarization filtering,” the EO sampling signal, dI/I, is enhanced by suppressing the main polarization component of the probe beam, resulting in a reduced probe beam intensity I’ = b^2*I, after the interaction with THz field in the EO crystal. Since the intensity modulation, dI, also reduces to dI’= b*dI, as the result of the polarization filtering, the THz EO sampling signal is enhanced by a factor of 1/b: dI’/I’ =(1/b)*dI/I. This “polarization filtering” is applicable not only to the conventional ellipsometric EO sampling but also to the heterodyne EO sampling. Firstly, we explain the principle of the polarization filtering, and then show the results of the proof-of-principle experiment for the standard and the heterodyne EO sampling, respectively.
Recent studies in spintronics have highlighted ultrathin magnetic metallic multilayers as a novel and very promising class of broadband terahertz radiation sources. Such spintronic multilayers consist of ferromagnetic (FM) and non-magnetic (NM) thin films. When triggered by ultrafast laser pulses, they generate pulsed THz radiation due to the inverse spin-Hall effect – a mechanism that converts optically driven spin currents from the magnetized FM layer into transient transverse charge currents in the NM layer, resulting in THz emission. As THz emitters, FM/NM multilayers have been intensively investigated so far only at 800-nm excitation wavelength using femtosecond Ti:sapphire lasers. In this work, we demonstrate that an optimized spintronic bilayer structure of 2-nm Fe and 3-nm Pt grown on 500 μm MgO substrate is just as effective as a THz radiation source when excited either at λ = 400 nm, λ = 800 nm or at λ = 1550 nm by ultrafast laser pulses (pulse width ~100 fs, repetition rate ~100 MHz). Even at low incident power levels, the Fe/Pt spintronic emitter exhibits efficient generation of THz radiation at all three excitation wavelengths. The efficient THz emitter operation at 1550 nm facilitates the integration of such spintronic emitters in THz systems driven by relatively low cost and compact fs fiber lasers without the need for frequency conversion.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.