Varying pre-plasma properties to boost terahertz wave generation in liquids

Laser-driven nonlinear phenomena can both reveal the structural features of materials and become the basis for the development of various translated technologies, including highly intense terahertz sources. Here we realize a modified single-color double-pulse excitation scheme for enhancing the terahertz wave generation in flat liquid jets, and we show that the pre-ionization effect is crucial for finding the optimal input conditions. The experimental results, being supported by numerical simulations, reveal the preference for longer pre-pulses to induce the effective ionization process and shorter signals for the strong laser-plasma interaction. In addition to the identified features of the terahertz wave energy enhancement with respect to the duration change for both pulses and their ratio variation, we state the possibility of achieving the optical-to-THz conversion efficiency value up to 0.1% in the case of double-pulse excitation of an α -pinene jet. Terahertz frequency radiation provides a powerful tool for the investigation of matter from the life science to the solid state and plasmas. The authors experimentally and numerically present enhanced terahertz wave generation by single-color double-pulse excitation in flat liquid jets, providing a deeper understanding of the mechanism that underpins the terahertz generation in multi-pulse experiments.