Enhanced second harmonic generation in laser-induced air plasma.

We report a systematic investigation into the processes behind a near hundred-fold enhanced second harmonic wave generated from a laser-induced air plasma, by examining the temporal dynamics of the frequency conversion processes, and the polarization of the emitted second harmonic beam. Contrary to typical nonlinear optical processes, the enhanced second harmonic generation efficiency is only observed within a sub-picosecond time window and found to be nearly constant across fundamental pulse durations spanning from 0.1 ps to over 2 ps. We further demonstrate that with the adopted orthogonal pump-probe configuration, the polarization of the second harmonic field exhibits a complex dependence on the polarization of both input fundamental beams, contrasting with most of the previous experiments with a single-beam geometry.

Terahertz nonlinear index extraction via full-phase analysis.

We experimentally show the spectrally averaged nonlinear refractive index and absorption coefficient for liquid water, water vapor, α-pinene, and Si using a full-phase analysis in the terahertz regime through a standard time-domain spectrometer. Our results confirm that the nonlinear index of refraction of the liquid samples in this regime exceeds the near-infrared optical nonlinear index by six orders of magnitude. In the case of liquid water and water vapor at atmospheric pressure, we find a nonlinear index of 7.8×10-10cm2/W and 6×10-11cm2/W, respectively, which are both much larger than expected.

Angular-dependent circular dichroism of Tai Chi chiral metamaterials in terahertz region.

Chirality has received wide attention due to its promising applications in biopharmaceuticals, chemical detection, and polarized optoelectronic devices. Herein, metamaterials with layered Tai Chi patterns are proposed to get strong and tunable chirality. Based on the surface current distribution analysis, a coupling model considering both the magnetic and electric dipoles in the upper and bottom metallic structures is proposed to understand the circular dichroism. Accordingly, both an external chiral modulation by changing the incident angle and an internal chiral modulation by changing the twist angle are achieved. Incident-angle-dependent circular dichroism modulation exhibits a range of 0.44-0.62 and the twist-angle-dependent modulation range is ${-}{0.6 - 0.42}$-0.6-0.42, where the negative value means the polarity of the circular dichroism can also be tuned. This work deepens the understanding of angular-dependent chirality in metamaterials and expands the potential for terahertz polarization optoelectronic applications.

Flat liquid jet as a highly efficient source of terahertz radiation.

Polar liquids are strong absorbers of electromagnetic waves in the terahertz range, therefore, historically such liquids have not been considered as good candidates for terahertz sources. However, flowing liquid medium has explicit advantages, such as a higher damage threshold compared to solid-state sources and more efficient ionization process compared to gases. Here we report systematic study of efficient generation of terahertz radiation in flat liquid jets under sub-picosecond single-color optical excitation. We demonstrate how medium parameters such as molecular density, ionization energy and linear absorption contribute to the terahertz emission from the flat liquid jets. Our simulation and experimental measurements reveal that the terahertz energy has quasi-quadratic dependence on the optical excitation pulse energy. Moreover, the optimal pump pulse duration, which depends on the thickness of the jet is theoretically predicted and experimentally confirmed. The obtained optical-to-terahertz energy conversion efficiency is more than 0.05%. It is comparable to the commonly used optical rectification in most of electro-optical crystals and two-color air filamentation. These results, significantly advancing prior research, can be successfully applied to create a new alternative source of terahertz radiation.

Dielectric property of MoS(2) crystal in terahertz and visible regions.

Two-dimensional materials such as MoS2 have attracted much attention in recent years due to their fascinating optoelectronic properties. The dielectric response of MoS2 crystal in both the terahertz (THz) and visible regions is studied in this work. Time-domain THz spectroscopy is employed for the THz property investigation. The real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant of MoS2 crystal are found to follow a Drude model, which is due to the intrinsic carrier absorption. In the visible region, ellipsometry is used to investigate the dielectric response. The general trend of the complex dielectric constant is found to be described with a Lorentz model, while two remarkable dielectric response peaks are observed to be located at 1.85 and 2.03 eV, which has been attributed to the splitting arising from the combined effect of interlayer coupling and spin-orbit coupling. This work can be the research foundation for future optoelectronic applications with MoS2.

Dysregulated glycolysis underpins high-fat-associated endometrial decidualization impairment during early pregnancy in mice.

Pregnancy complications are more likely to occur in obese women because of defective decidualization. However, the specific mechanism of glycolysis in decidual modulation associated with obesity remains unknown. Therefore, we explored the role of glycolysis in the endometrium of obese pregnant mice during decidualization. C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity. All obesity related parameters were significantly higher in the HFD mice than control. Furthermore, the HFD mice had fewer implantation sites, a smaller decidual area growth, and decreased decidualization marker protein expression than control. The HFD mice also had significantly decreased lactate production and glycolytic enzyme expression. To confirm the functional role of glycolysis during the decidual period in obese pregnant mice, we extracted endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and treated them with oleic acid (OA) and palmitic acid (PA) to mimic a high-fat environment. Decidualization and glycolysis were significantly restricted in the OA-and PA-treated groups. Moreover, we administered a glycolytic inhibitor, 2-DG, and an agonist, pioglitazone. 2-DG treatment considerably decreased the cells' glycolysis and decidualization. However, pioglitazone treatment improved glycolysis and alleviated defective decidualization. In conclusion, obesity-induced endometrial glycolysis modifications and key glycolytic enzyme downregulation during early pregnancy might cause abnormal decidualization, leading to an unsustainable pregnancy.

Optically Controlled Terahertz Dynamic Beam Splitter with Adjustable Split Ratio.

The beam splitter is an important functional device due to its ability to steer the propagation of electromagnetic waves. The split-ratio-variable splitter is of significance for optical, terahertz and microwave systems. Here, we are the first (to our knowledge) to propose an optically controlled dynamic beam splitter with adjustable split ratio in the terahertz region. Based on the metasurface containing two sets of reversed phase-gradient supercells, we split the terahertz wave into two symmetrical beams. Associated with the reconfigurable pump laser pattern programmed with the spatial light modulator, dynamic modulation of the split ratio varying from 1:1 to 15:1 is achieved. Meanwhile, the beam splitter works at a split angle of 36° for each beam. Additionally, we obtain an exponential relationship between the split ratio and the illumination proportion, which can be used as theoretical guidance for beam splitting with an arbitrary split ratio. Our novel beam splitter shows an outstanding level of performance in terms of the adjustable split ratio and stable split angles and can be used as an advanced method to develop active functional devices applied to terahertz systems and communications.

Large In-Plane Anisotropic Terahertz Emission Induced by Asymmetric Polarization in Low-Symmetric PdSe2.

Palladium diselenide (PdSe2) exhibits air stability, low symmetry, and high carrier mobility, resulting in unique in-plane anisotropy for polarized optoelectronic devices. However, the relationship of the symmetry and the terahertz (THz) radiation remains elusive yet significant for both the THz source in technology and nonlinear optical physics in science. Herein, we observed large in-plane anisotropic THz radiation from multilayer PdSe2 under femtosecond laser excitation. The THz emission demonstrates 2α dependence on the optical polarization angle from the resonant optical rectification combined with a background from the photocarrier acceleration under the surface depletion field. Interestingly, the in-plane THz emission along and perpendicular to the puckered direction demonstrates large anisotropy. Furthermore, the THz time-domain signals exhibit reversed polarities along the positive and negative puckered directions. This asymmetric polarization could relate to the bonding of Pd-Se, resulting in the unidirectional photon-induced current. Our results bridge the gap between the low-symmetry two-dimensional materials and the THz technology, which could promote the development of THz-polarized devices based on low-symmetry layered materials.

Spatial sampling of terahertz fields with sub-wavelength accuracy via probe-beam encoding.

Recently, computational sampling methods have been implemented to spatially characterize terahertz (THz) fields. Previous methods usually rely on either specialized THz devices such as THz spatial light modulators or complicated systems requiring assistance from photon-excited free carriers with high-speed synchronization among multiple optical beams. Here, by spatially encoding an 800-nm near-infrared (NIR) probe beam through the use of an optical SLM, we demonstrate a simple sampling approach that can probe THz fields with a single-pixel camera. This design does not require any dedicated THz devices, semiconductors or nanofilms to modulate THz fields. Using computational algorithms, we successfully measure 128 × 128 field distributions with a 62-µm transverse spatial resolution, which is 15 times smaller than the central wavelength of the THz signal (940 µm). Benefitting from the non-invasive nature of THz radiation and sub-wavelength resolution of our system, this simple approach can be used in applications such as biomedical sensing, inspection of flaws in industrial products, and so on.

Propagation of terahertz waves in a monoclinic crystal BaGa4Se7.

The complex symmetric dielectric tensor of a monoclinic crystal cannot be diagonalized by a space rotation operation in general, which poses a serious difficulty in analyzing the propagation of electromagnetic fields in monoclinic crystals so far. This propagation issue is discussed in a general case without using the index ellipsoid scheme. It is found that, when incident waves travel along the mirror plane normal or 2-fold rotation axis of monoclinic crystals, two eigenmodes following specific dispersion relations are elliptically polarized with the same ellipticity and chirality but have spatially orthogonal elliptical principal axes. The frequency independent features are the unique manifestation of the crystal symmetry. Using polarization sensitive terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and our developed data analyzing and processing methods, three complex permittivity tensor elements for a monoclinic crystal BaGa4Se7 are straightforwardly extracted and the properties of the two eigenmodes are characterized in full. It is also interesting that the spectral components beyond 1.7 THz show a very high refraction index (>10) and low dissipation during propagation, which suggests that the bulk phonon-polariton waves may be excited and effectively propagate in the crystal, resulting from the coherent phonon excitations by the incident terahertz waves. Our results may promote to develop novel terahertz devices based on polariton excitation and propagation in monoclinic crystals.

Mechanism and modulation of terahertz generation from a semimetal--graphite.

Semi-metals might offer a stronger interaction and a better confinement for terahertz wave than semiconductors, while preserve tunability. Particularly, graphene-based materials are envisioned as terahertz modulators, filters and ultra-broadband sources. However, the understanding of terahertz generation from those materials is still not clear, thus limits us recognizing the potential and improving device performances. Graphite, the mother material of graphene and a typical bulk semi-metal, is a good system to study semi-metals and graphene-based materials. Here we experimentally modulate and maximize the terahertz signal from graphite surface, thus reveal the mechanism--surface field driving photon induced carriers into transient current to radiate terahertz wave. We also discuss the differences between graphite and semiconductors; particularly graphite shows very weak temperature dependency from room temperature to 80 °C. Above knowledge will help us understand terahertz generations, achieve maximum output and electric modulation, in semi-metal or graphene based devices.

Angular dependent anisotropic terahertz response of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube arrays with spatial dispersion.

Spatial dispersion effect of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the terahertz (THz) region has significance for both theoretical and applied consideration due to the unique intrinsically anisotropic physical properties of CNTs. Herein, we report the angular dependent reflection of p-polarized THz wave from vertically aligned multi-walled CNT arrays in both experiment and theory. The spectra indicate that the reflection depends on the film thickness of vertically aligned CNTs, the incident angle, and the frequency. The calculation model is based on the spatial dispersion effect of aligned CNTs and performed with effective impedance method and the Maxwell-Garnett approximation. The results fit well with the experiment when the thickness of CNT film is thin, which reveals a coherent superposition mechanism of the CNT surface reflection and CNTs/Si interface reflection. For thick CNT films, the CNTs/Si interface response determines the reflection at small incident angles, while the CNTs surface effect dominates at large incident angles. This work investigates the spatial dispersion effect of vertically aligned CNT arrays in the THz region, and paves a way for potential anisotropic THz applications based on CNTs with oblique incidence requirements.

Spoof surface plasmon polaritons in terahertz transmission through subwavelength hole arrays analyzed by coupled oscillator model.

Both the localized resonance and excitation of spoof surface plasmon polaritons are observed in the terahertz transmission spectra of periodic subwavelength hole arrays. Analyzing with the coupled oscillator model, we find that the terahertz transmission is actually facilitated by three successive processes: the incident terahertz field first initiates the localized oscillation around each hole, and then the spoof surface plasmon polaritons are excited by the localized resonance, and finally the two resonances couple and contribute to the transmission. Tailoring the localized resonance by hole size, the coupling strength between spoof surface plasmon polaritons and localized resonances is quantitatively extracted. The hole size dependent transmittance and the coupling mechanism are further confirmed by fitting the measured spectra to a modified multi-order Fano model.