Demonstration of a tilted-pulse-front pumped plane-parallel slab terahertz source

A new type of tilted-pulse-front pumped terahertz (THz) source has been demonstrated, which is based on a LiNbO plane-parallel slab with an echelon structure on its input surface. Single-cycle pulses of 1 μJ energy and 0.30 THz central frequency have been generated with 5×10 efficiency from such a source. One order-of-magnitude increase in efficiency is expected by pumping a cryogenically cooled echelon of increased size and thickness with a Ti:sapphire laser. The use of a plane-parallel nonlinear optical crystal slab enables straightforward scaling to high THz pulse energies and the production of a symmetric THz beam with a uniform pulse shape for good focusability and high field strength.