The 4th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE 2019)

442 / 2019-03-06 18:48:50

Extreme terahertz bursts from picosecond laser-foil interactions

Terahertz radiation; laser plasma interactions; Plasma diagnostics

Plenary track > Fundamental Physics at Extremes

An ever-increasing number of strong-field applications like ultrafast coherent control over matter require high-power and tunable driver light pulses. The realization of such a source in the terahertz (THz) band has long been a formidable challenge. The combination of the readily available ultra-intense lasers and the damage-free plasma medium makes relativistic laser-plasma interactions be a promising approach toward generating strong THz radiation. In this talk, we report on the efficient generation of spectrally-tunable THz pulses with energies up to tens of millijoules, by a high-intensity ps laser pulse irradiating a metal foil. An analytical model is developed to elucidate the underlying THz generation scenarios, with which the THz radiation is employed to diagnose the electron emission and ion acceleration from the target rear surface. In addition, some preliminary results of applying such a strong THz pulse to semiconductors will also be presented.