Dielectric and Optical Properties of Strontium–Barium Niobate Films in the Range of 0.2–1.3 THz

The knowledge of optical and dielectric properties of ferroelectric films, in particular, strontium–barium niobate films, in the terahertz spectral range is needed to use these films as a basis of active elements and structures for detection and control of terahertz radiation. The properties of strontium–barium niobate films with x = 0.5 grown on oriented sapphire substrates with a deposited electrode are studied by the method of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in the spectral range of 0.2–1.3 THz. It is found that strontium–barium niobate films can be used to develop devices for detection and control of terahertz radiation.     

A terahertz radiation spectrum analyzer

A spectrum analyzer of terahertz radiation pulses has been designed for spectroscopic studies of condensed media, gases, and plasmas. The operating frequency range is 0.05–6.00 THz, the frequency resolution is 0.5 cm⁻¹, and the aperture is 40 mm.     

太赫兹天线结构设计

太赫兹天线工作频率高(100 GHz~10 THz),加工、装配精度要求严苛,合理有效的天线结构设计是太赫兹天线工程化亟待解决的技术难题之一。文中研制了一套工作在0.33 THz的太赫兹天线,详细阐述了天线结构、各组成结构材料和互联以及天线装配,并根据使用环境,对天线结构进行了仿真和电性能测试。结果表明,整套天线满足刚强度等各项指标要求,也验证了该天线结构设计的合理性和有效性。     

太赫兹技术在安全领域中的应用

太赫兹波（THz）是频率介于毫米波与红外光之间的辐射,近年来,自由电子激光器与超快技术的发展,为THz提供了稳定的发射源,人们对THz波的研究越来越深入,对其在各领域尤其在公共安全方面的应用广泛关注.本文概要介绍了THz波的主要性质和产生原理,并从安全检测,毒品与爆炸物鉴别三方面介绍了THz波在安全方面的应用前景.     

Generation, transport, and detection of linear accelerator based femtosecond-terahertz pulses

The generation and detection of intense terahertz (THz) radiation has drawn a great attention recently. The dramatically enhanced energy and peak electric field of the coherent THz radiation can be generated by coherent superposition of radiated fields emitted by ultrafast electron bunches. The femtosecond (fs)-THz beamline construction at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) was completed in the end of 2009. The fs-THz beamline at PAL can supply ultrafast and intense fs-THz radiation from a 75 MeV linear accelerator. The radiation is expected to have frequency up to 3 THz (～100 cm(-1)) and the pulse width of <200 fs with pulse energy up to 10 μJ. This intense THz source has great potential for applications in nonlinear optical phenomena and fields such as material science, biomedical science, chemistry, and physics, etc.     

爆炸性物质的太赫兹(THz)光谱分析

介绍了利用自由空间电光取样方法对爆炸性物质进行太赫兹（THz）频段的时间分辨光谱测量.得到了四种爆炸性材料的透射光谱,得出了它们在THz频段的光学特性.DNT（2,4-二硝基甲苯）在此频段有特征吸收峰,经过钝化的RDX（黑索今）在0.6-0.9THz之间吸收明显增强;而HMX（奥克托金）和TNT（2,4,6-三硝基甲苯）磷状结晶片对THz波的吸收较小,在0.4-1.2THz的频率范围内折射率不随频率发生显著改变.研究这四种常见的爆炸物特征谱线及在THz波段的光学参数,对于建立爆炸物材料THz波段指纹谱数据库和检测环境中危险物质,排除安全隐患具有重要意义.     

基于渡越-切伦科夫辐射原理太赫兹横向场频率特性的实验研究

基于渡越-切伦科夫辐射原理,单色飞秒激光脉冲聚焦到空气中形成等离子体进而辐射出径向偏振太赫兹波,径向偏振太赫兹波经过紧聚焦后在焦点处产生太赫兹波横向偏振分量。为了有效调控太赫兹横向分量的频率分布和振幅特性,首先,通过理论分析太赫兹横向场分量在外加电压下的分布规律,给出不同角度的外加电压对太赫兹横向场频率强度的影响。然后,采用对等离子体施加外部电场的方法,得到一个最佳的纵向电场角度产生高强度太赫兹横向偏振分量。对发展太赫兹波特性的基础研究以及太赫兹技术的应用具有重要的参考意义。     

一种基于FSS的太赫兹滤波器特性分析

基于太赫兹频段,为研究太赫兹滤波器的滤波特性,提出了一种基于频率选择表面(FSS)的反射型偏振太赫兹滤波器.通过分析不同旋转角度的滤波器透过性,得出该结构的滤波器具有中心反射率高,谐振频率拓展范围大等优点.优化计算结果表明,当FSS结构设计成不同的旋转角度时,可将中心频率控制在0.58～0.72 THz(动态可调范围约...     

A terahertz spectrometer with a pulsed high magnetic field

A terahertz (THz) spectrometer based on backward-wave tubes and combined with a pulsed-magnetic-field generator with a pulse duration of ～100 μs and an amplitude of up to 50 T is described. This spectrometer is indented for studying magnetic resonances of various magnets in the THz frequency range (30 GHz-1.5 THz) in the Faraday (longitudinal field) and Voigt (transverse field) geometries. Its operating principle is based on measurements of the change in the transmission of polarized THz radiation by studied samples exposed to an applied pulsed magnetic field. Its advantage over the magnetic-resonance technique, in which radiation guides with uncontrolled radiation polarization are used, is the possibility of performing precise polarization measurements necessary for determining the conditions for excitation of resonance magnetic modes and yielding important information on the magnetic structure of materials. The results of polarization measurements of test samples are presented. The degree of radiation polarization is 99.99%; the dynamic measurement range is 25 dB; the measurement accuracy is no worse than 1%; the time resolution of the recording system is 1s; the magnetic-field inhomogeneities at the solenoid’s center at a base of ±2 mm are no worse than 1 (experimental) and 5% (calculated) for the axial and radial components, respectively; and the maximum stored energy is 40.5 kJ.     

双色激光场下太赫兹辐射能量的调控研究

提升太赫兹(THz)脉冲产生能量一直是近些年超快光学的研究热点之一。基于双色激光在空气中拉丝产生THz波的数值模型,在隧穿电离范围内,详细分析了双色激光场产生THz波的最佳参数组合以及其产生变化的物理机理,用于得到最强的THz波辐射能量。双色激光场组合的电场具有不对称性,其引起的快速振荡有利于电子的加速过程,进而产生更大电子数密度以及在沿拉丝距离形成了更强的累积净电流。当电子密度和净电流增加时,使得单点THz辐射更强,拉丝各点辐射的THz波相干叠加,于是在远场得到了更强的THz波能量。这些研究结果为不同激光产生条件下增强THz波辐射能量提供了详尽的参数分析及理论依据,重点研究了不同寻常波长组合及不同相对相位对激光拉丝产生太赫兹波的影响,对后续大幅增强THz辐射效率具有重要意义。     

Specific features of studying anisotropic media by methods of time-domain terahertz spectroscopy

Wide-band time-domain terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is a popular method of studying optical properties of various materials. This method is considered as applied to polarization-sensitive measurements of properties of anisotropic materials and media possessing significant dichroism and birefringence. It is important to understand that the development of the elemental base for the terahertz range, in particular, for THz polarizers, falls behind the achievements of polarization optics for the visible range. In studying anisotropic materials, this may lead to simultaneous detection of orthogonal components of the THz field and to formation of artifacts in the spectral range in calculations of properties of examined samples. A unique specific feature of time-domain terahertz spectroscopy, namely, a possibility of capturing the time-dependent shape of the THz pulse, allows separation of the orthogonal components of the field in the time domain. Thus, it is possible to detect the signal from radiation with the orthogonal polarization and eliminate it by means of appropriate adjustment of polarization elements of the spectroscopy system. This method is demonstrated by an example of studying the terahertz properties along the optical axis z of an anisotropic ferroelectric crystal of lead germanate in which significant birefringence and dichroism arise as the crystal is heated to the phase transition temperature.     

散射式太赫兹扫描近场光学显微技术研究

基于散射式近场探测原理,设计并搭建了散射式太赫兹扫描近场光学显微系统(THz s-SNOM),实现了纳米量级空间分辨率的太赫兹近场显微成像测量。该系统以输出频率范围为0.1~0.3THz的太赫兹倍频模块为发射源,通过纳米探针的针尖产生纳米光源与样品相互作用,并将样品表面的倏逝波转化为可在远场测量的辐射波。通过探针逐点扫描样品表面,同时获得了样品表面的形貌图和太赫兹近场显微图。该系统的显微分辨率取决于探针针尖的曲率半径,而与太赫兹波的波长无关。使用该系统测量了金薄膜/硅衬底样品和石墨烯样品的近场显微图,结果表明,近场显微的空间分辨率优于60nm,波长与空间分辨率之比高达λ/26000。     

基于太赫兹光谱的天冬氨酸结构分析及鉴定

太赫兹时域光谱技术（THz-TDS）是一种新的远红外波段光谱测量技术,对化合物结构上的微小差异变化十分敏感,因此成为物质分析与检测的新型方法。文章基于太赫兹时域光谱技术的测定方法,在氮气环境中考察不同来源天冬氨酸在太赫兹波段的吸收特性,并结合差示扫描量热仪（DSC）和傅立叶变换红外光谱仪（FITR）进一步验证THz测定结果的有效性。实验结果表明,用太赫兹时域光谱技术可以清楚地分辨出不同结构天冬氨酸的差异,方法简单,快速,准确。     

Compact terahertz passive spectrometer with wideband superconductor-insulator-superconductor mixer

We developed a compact terahertz (THz) spectrometer with a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer, aiming to realize a portable and highly sensitive spectrometer to detect dangerous gases at disaster sites. The receiver cryostat which incorporates the SIS mixer and a small cryocooler except for a helium compressor has a weight of 27 kg and dimensions of 200 mm × 270 mm × 690 mm. In spite of the small cooling capacity of the cryocooler, the SIS mixer is successfully cooled lower than 4 K, and the temperature variation is suppressed for the sensitive measurement. By adopting a frequency sweeping system using photonic local oscillator, we demonstrated a spectroscopic measurement of CH(3)CN gas in 0.2-0.5 THz range.     

Application of superlattice multipliers for high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy

Frequency multipliers based on superlattice (SL) devices as nonlinear elements have been developed as radiation sources for a terahertz (THz) laboratory spectrometer. Input frequencies of 100 and 250 GHz from backward wave oscillators have been multiplied up to the 11th harmonic, producing usable frequencies up to 2.7 THz. Even at these high frequencies the output power is sufficient for laboratory spectroscopy. Comparisons to conventional high-resolution microwave spectroscopy methods reveal several superior features of this new device such as very high line frequency accuracies, broadband tunability, high output power levels at odd harmonics of the input frequency up to high orders, and a robust applicability.     

Note: Coherent detection of terahertz radiation employing a continuous wave optical parametric source

The combination of an all-optical terahertz source with a photoconductive antenna to achieve coherent detection is presented. This approach aims to overcome the frequency limits introduced by optoelectronic terahertz sources commonly used. Here the Gaussian-shaped and linearly polarized terahertz waves are generated by a continuous wave optical parametric oscillator with a power of 3 μW at 1.4 THz. The infrared signal light of the optical parametric oscillator can be used to coherently detect the generated terahertz wave with a photoconductive antenna. As a proof-of-principle experiment we determine the thickness profile of a plastic lens using phase shifting interferometry.     

Hot-electron bolometer terahertz mixers for the Herschel Space Observatory

We report on low noise terahertz mixers (1.4-1.9 THz) developed for the heterodyne spectrometer onboard the Herschel Space Observatory. The mixers employ double slot antenna integrated superconducting hot-electron bolometers (HEBs) made of thin NbN films. The mixer performance was characterized in terms of detection sensitivity across the entire rf band by using a Fourier transform spectrometer (from 0.5 to 2.5 THz, with 30 GHz resolution) and also by measuring the mixer noise temperature at a limited number of discrete frequencies. The lowest mixer noise temperature recorded was 750 K [double sideband (DSB)] at 1.6 THz and 950 K DSB at 1.9 THz local oscillator (LO) frequencies. Averaged across the intermediate frequency band of 2.4-4.8 GHz, the mixer noise temperature was 1100 K DSB at 1.6 THz and 1450 K DSB at 1.9 THz LO frequencies. The HEB heterodyne receiver stability has been analyzed and compared to the HEB stability in the direct detection mode. The optimal local oscillator power was determined and found to be in a 200-500 nW range.     

A diffraction-compensating 0-25 ns free space terahertz delay line for coherent quantum control

Free space delay lines provide pulses of variable time spacing for optical experiments such as pump-probe spectroscopy and coherent quantum control, including spin and photon echo techniques. However, in the terahertz region of the spectrum, beam divergence due to diffraction limits the useful length of traditional free space delay lines. We present a novel double-folded variable delay line for light in the frequency range 0.24-1.2 THz, which incorporates a symmetric arrangement of lenses whose spacing can be adjusted to compensate for diffraction at each delay. Scalable for use in other wavelength regimes, the design relays an input Gaussian beam waist to the output with up to 25 ns ( approximately 8 m) total delay and is enclosed in a desiccated volume of <0.5 m3. The delay line can deliver two or three pulses with relative amplitudes controlled via variable spacing silicon etalon beam splitters. Profiles of a 0.24 THz beam show good agreement with calculations at long delays, with insertion loss per delay stage of approximately 3 dB.     

太赫兹宽带消色差偏折器设计

偏折器可以调控电磁波的传播方向,在传感、光通信等领域具有重要的地位,但是色差问题使传统偏折器的偏折方向随波长变化,很大程度上限制了偏折器的发展。为了消除偏折器中的色差问题,通过对太赫兹偏折中色差问题的物理机理进行分析,采用几何相位与共振相位结合的设计方法,在全介质超表面上实现宽带消色差偏折的功能。利用有限时域差分法(FDTD)在0.5 THz到1.1 THz的宽带范围内仿真验证设计的方法并实现了超表面消色差偏折的效果。     

Precisely tunable continuous-wave terahertz source with interferometric frequency control

We realized a tunable continuous-wave terahertz source with megahertz frequency resolution. The system is based on optical heterodyning of two near-infrared distributed feedback diode lasers, each laser being stabilized by electronic feedback from a low-finesse quadrature interferometer. The control loop permits precisely linear laser frequency scans over >1200 GHz, and a beat signal linewidth of 1 MHz at 80 ms time scale. Using GaAs photomixers and log-periodic antennae, we achieve a signal-to-noise ratio of the terahertz power of >70 dB at 100 GHz and 100 ms integration time, and still approximately 30 dB at 1 THz. As an example for high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy, we characterize the transmission properties of a subwavelength metal grating.