Microwave signal generation based on the interaction of mode-locked laser pulses with a nonlinear optical crystal

Abstract

We report about a technique to generate microwave radiation by the irradiation of a nonlinear optical crystal with uniformly spaced, ultrashort optical pulses delivered by a mode-locked laser. By systematically studying the laser polarization and intensity dependence of the microwave signal it is possible to show that it is a nonlinear phenomenon and that it originates from optical rectification. We report in this work wide bandwidth detection of the generated microwave signals, achieved inside a coaxial copper structure.