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High-power terahertz radiation from relativistic electrons

Nature volume 420, pages 153–156 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) radiation, which lies in the far-infrared region, is at the interface of electronics and photonics. Narrow-band THz radiation can be produced by free-electron lasers1 and fast diodes2,3. Broadband THz radiation can be produced by thermal sources and, more recently, by table-top laser-driven sources4,5,6 and by short electron bunches in accelerators7, but so far only with low power. Here we report calculations and measurements that confirm the production of high-power broadband THz radiation from subpicosecond electron bunches in an accelerator. The average power is nearly 20 watts, several orders of magnitude higher than any existing source, which could enable various new applications. In particular, many materials have distinct absorptive and dispersive properties in this spectral range, so that THz imaging could reveal interesting features. For example, it would be possible to image the distribution of specific proteins or water in tissue, or buried metal layers in semiconductors8,9; the present source would allow full-field, real-time capture of such images. High peak and average power THz sources are also critical in driving new nonlinear phenomena and for pump–probe studies of dynamical properties of materials10,11.

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Figure 1: Comparison between coherent THz radiation generated by an 80-MHz conventional laser-driven THz source (a) and the relativistic source described here (b).
Figure 2: Calculations of the average power emitted by a 10-mm2 thermal source at 2,000 K (dashed line), the NSLS VUV ring at Brookhaven National Laboratory (dotted line), and the Jefferson Laboratory (JLab) ERL (solid line).
Figure 3: Comparison between measured (solid line) and calculated (dashed line) THz spectral intensity.
Figure 4: Measured THz intensity as a function of beam current (square symbols), showing the quadratic dependence expected for coherent emission (solid line).

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Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues for their help and support, which were essential for these experiments. This work was supported primarily by the US Department of Energy. The Jefferson Laboratory FEL is supported by the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Laser Processing Consortium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 11973, USA

    G. L. Carr

  2. Advanced Light Source Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, 94720, Berkeley, USA

    Michael C. Martin & Wayne R. McKinney

  3. Free Electron Laser Facility, Jefferson Laboratory, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Virginia, 23606, Newport News, USA

    K. Jordan, George R. Neil & G. P. Williams

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  1. G. L. Carr
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Correspondence to G. P. Williams.

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Carr, G., Martin, M., McKinney, W. et al. High-power terahertz radiation from relativistic electrons. Nature 420, 153–156 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01175

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