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Terahertz Generation by Optical Rectification in Sugar Crystal

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Abstract

We report on THz pulse generation through optical rectification of femtosecond laser pulses in sugar crystals. The sugar crystals were grown from an aqueous solution of caster cane sugar bought in a local grocery. Sugar exhibits rather good nonlinear coefficients (\(d_{23}\simeq 56\) pm/V), but the optical-THz conversion efficiency remains quite weak because of the lack of phase-matching, when pumped by a laser beam of 0.8-μm central wavelength. Nevertheless, sugar availability at a low price makes it a relevant material for trial experiments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thanks E. Herault, M. Bernier, and F. Al Jammal of IMEP-LAHC for their help during this work. They are deeply indebted to the reviewer who permits them to correct some error in the first version of their manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the French Research Agency (ANR), under the program LabEx FOCUS ANR-11-LABX-0013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, TOTAL, LFCR, Pau, France

    Federico Sanjuan

  2. IMEP-LAHC, UMR CNRS 5130, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, 73 376, Le Bourget du Lac, France

    Gwenaël Gaborit & Jean-Louis Coutaz

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  1. Federico Sanjuan
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  2. Gwenaël Gaborit
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  3. Jean-Louis Coutaz
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Correspondence to Federico Sanjuan.

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Sanjuan, F., Gaborit, G. & Coutaz, JL. Terahertz Generation by Optical Rectification in Sugar Crystal. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 42, 525–536 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-021-00795-6

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