Percolation-enhanced generation of terahertz pulses by optical rectification on ultrathin gold films

Emission of pulses of electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz range is observed when ultrathin gold films on glass are illuminated with femtosecond near-IR laser pulses. A distinct maximum is observed in the emitted terahertz amplitude from films of average thickness just above the percolation th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOptics letters Vol. 36; no. 13; p. 2572
Main Authors Ramakrishnan, Gopakumar, Planken, Paul C M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.07.2011
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Summary:Emission of pulses of electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz range is observed when ultrathin gold films on glass are illuminated with femtosecond near-IR laser pulses. A distinct maximum is observed in the emitted terahertz amplitude from films of average thickness just above the percolation threshold. Our measurements suggest that the emission is through a second-order nonlinear optical rectification process, enhanced by the excitation of localized surface plasmon hot spots on the percolated metal film.
ISSN:1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.36.002572