Method and apparatus for generating THz radiation

US10095083B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY · DE
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · US

Inventors

• Franz X. Kaertner · Newton, US
• Damian Barre · Hamburg, DE
• Michael Hemmer · San Francisco, US
• Giovanni Cirmi · Hamburg, DE
• Oliver D. Muecke · Hamburg, DE
• Giulio Maria Rossi · Hamburg, DE
• Arya Fallahi · Hamburg, DE
• Nicholas H. Matlis · Hamburg, DE
• Luis E. Zapata · Livermore, US
• Koustuban Ravi · Oakland, US
• Fabian Reichert · Hamburg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 20, 2017
• Grant date: Oct 9, 2018
• Expiry date: Mar 20, 2037

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02F2203/56
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method of generating THz radiation includes the steps of generating optical input radiation with an input radiation source device (10), irradiating a first conversion crystal device (30) with the optical input radiation, wherein the first conversion crystal device (30) is arranged in a single pass configuration, and generating the THz radiation having a THz frequency in the first conversion crystal device (30) in response to the optical input radiation by an optical-to-THz-conversion process, wherein a multi-line frequency spectrum is provided by the optical input radiation in the first conversion crystal device (30), and the optical-to-THz-conversion process includes cascaded difference frequency generation using the multi-line frequency spectrum. Furthermore, a THz source apparatus being configured for generating THz radiation and applications thereof are described.