Abstract
Terahertz surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) propagating on semiconductor surfaces are a promising tool for performing terahertz spectroscopy of surfaces and surface deposits, especially biomolecules. Recently, we proposed a technique that can potentially allow the generation of SPPs using femtosecond optical pulses [1] with tilted intensity front. Such pulses are already used for the generation of bulk THz radiation in nonlinear crystals [2], The idea behind the proposal is to make phase-matched optical-to-terahertz conversion directly on the semiconductor surfaces. The surface is illuminated by a weakly-focused femtosecond laser pulse with tilted intensity front, which creates a moving strip-like spot of nonlinear polarization via optical rectification. If the tilt angle exceeds 45°, the spot moves with subluminal velocity and the phase-matched excitation of a quasi-plane surface wave can be realized.
© 2007 IEEE
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