Yan ZHANG received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, and his Doctoral degree from Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, in 1994, 1996, and 1999, respectively. Dr. Zhang is currently a full professor in Department of Physics, Capital Normal University, China. He is the dean of Beijing Key Laboratory for Metamaterials and Devices, China. His research interests include terahertz imaging and spectroscopy, surface plasmonic optics, and optical information processing. He has authored and coauthored more than 240 journal papers. He is a Fellow of The Optical Society of America (OSA).

REVIEW ARTICLE

Intense terahertz radiation: generation and application

Yan ZHANG, Kaixuan LI, Huan ZHAO

Front. Optoelectron.. 2021, 14 (1): 4-36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-020-1052-9

Abstract:

Strong terahertz (THz) radiation provides a powerful tool to manipulate and control complex condensed matter systems. This review provides an overview of progress in the generation, detection, and applications of intense THz radiation. The tabletop intense THz sources based on Ti:sapphire laser are reviewed, including photoconductive antennas (PCAs), optical rectification sources, plasma-based THz sources, and some novel techniques for THz generations, such as topological insulators, spintronic materials, and metasurfaces. The coherent THz detection methods are summarized, and their limitations for intense THz detection are analyzed. Applications of intense THz radiation are introduced, including applications in spectroscopy detection, nonlinear effects, and switching of coherent magnons. The review is concluded with a short perspective on the generation and applications of intense THz radiation.

Keywords:terahertz (THz) radiation, THz generation, THz detection, light–matter interaction