Abstract

The importance of terahertz (THz) wave techniques has been demonstrated in various fields and the range of applications is now expanding rapidly. However, the practical implementation of THz science in the civil theatre is restricted due to the lack not only of convenient high power THz wave emitters and sensitive detectors but also of efficient quasi-optical active devices such as amplifiers. In this work, we demonstrated the direct amplification of THz waves using Magnesium doped Lithium Niobate (MgO: LiNbO₃) crystals as the non-linear gain medium. The input THz wave was injected as a seed beam along with the pump beam into the non-linear crystal and it was amplified by the optical parametric process. We report gain in excess of 50dB with an input THz pulse energy of less than 20 aJ. We believe that this demonstration will contribute to the convenience and further applicability of THz sensing techniques.

© 2014 Optical Society of America