Hyeongmun Kim, Chul Kang, Dogeun Jang, Yulan Roh, Sang Hwa Lee, Joong Wook Lee, Jae Hee Sung, Seong Ku Lee, Ki-Yong Kim
{"title":"通过可扩展的光学整流技术实现 260 MV/cm 的太赫兹电离波","authors":"Hyeongmun Kim, Chul Kang, Dogeun Jang, Yulan Roh, Sang Hwa Lee, Joong Wook Lee, Jae Hee Sung, Seong Ku Lee, Ki-Yong Kim","doi":"10.1038/s41377-024-01462-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Terahertz (THz) waves, known as non-ionizing radiation owing to their low photon energies, can actually ionize atoms and molecules when a sufficiently large number of THz photons are concentrated in time and space. Here, we demonstrate the generation of ionizing, multicycle, 15-THz waves emitted from large-area lithium niobate crystals via phase-matched optical rectification of 150-terawatt laser pulses. A complete characterization of the generated THz waves in energy, pulse duration, and focal spot size shows that the field strength can reach up to 260 megavolts per centimeter. In particular, a single-shot THz interferometer is employed to measure the THz pulse duration and spectrum with complementary numerical simulations. Such intense THz pulses are irradiated onto various solid targets to demonstrate THz-induced tunneling ionization and plasma formation. This study also discusses the potential of nonperturbative THz-driven ionization in gases, which will open up new opportunities, including nonlinear and relativistic THz physics in plasma.</p>","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":20.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Ionizing terahertz waves with 260 MV/cm from scalable optical rectification\",\"authors\":\"Hyeongmun Kim, Chul Kang, Dogeun Jang, Yulan Roh, Sang Hwa Lee, Joong Wook Lee, Jae Hee Sung, Seong Ku Lee, Ki-Yong Kim\",\"doi\":\"10.1038/s41377-024-01462-w\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p>Terahertz (THz) waves, known as non-ionizing radiation owing to their low photon energies, can actually ionize atoms and molecules when a sufficiently large number of THz photons are concentrated in time and space. Here, we demonstrate the generation of ionizing, multicycle, 15-THz waves emitted from large-area lithium niobate crystals via phase-matched optical rectification of 150-terawatt laser pulses. A complete characterization of the generated THz waves in energy, pulse duration, and focal spot size shows that the field strength can reach up to 260 megavolts per centimeter. In particular, a single-shot THz interferometer is employed to measure the THz pulse duration and spectrum with complementary numerical simulations. Such intense THz pulses are irradiated onto various solid targets to demonstrate THz-induced tunneling ionization and plasma formation. This study also discusses the potential of nonperturbative THz-driven ionization in gases, which will open up new opportunities, including nonlinear and relativistic THz physics in plasma.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":18069,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Light-Science & Applications\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":20.6000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-05-27\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Light-Science & Applications\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1089\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01462-w\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"OPTICS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Light-Science & Applications","FirstCategoryId":"1089","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01462-w","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
Ionizing terahertz waves with 260 MV/cm from scalable optical rectification
Terahertz (THz) waves, known as non-ionizing radiation owing to their low photon energies, can actually ionize atoms and molecules when a sufficiently large number of THz photons are concentrated in time and space. Here, we demonstrate the generation of ionizing, multicycle, 15-THz waves emitted from large-area lithium niobate crystals via phase-matched optical rectification of 150-terawatt laser pulses. A complete characterization of the generated THz waves in energy, pulse duration, and focal spot size shows that the field strength can reach up to 260 megavolts per centimeter. In particular, a single-shot THz interferometer is employed to measure the THz pulse duration and spectrum with complementary numerical simulations. Such intense THz pulses are irradiated onto various solid targets to demonstrate THz-induced tunneling ionization and plasma formation. This study also discusses the potential of nonperturbative THz-driven ionization in gases, which will open up new opportunities, including nonlinear and relativistic THz physics in plasma.