Terahertz radiation by optical rectification in a hydrogen-bonded organic molecular ferroelectric crystal, 2-phenylmalondialdehyde

TL;DR

This study demonstrates room-temperature terahertz wave generation via optical rectification in a hydrogen-bonded organic ferroelectric crystal, PhMDA, with promising efficiency and phase-matching properties.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of terahertz radiation from PhMDA, highlighting its potential as an efficient organic terahertz emitter at room temperature.

Findings

Terahertz pulse with ~0.5 ps duration generated in PhMDA.

Radiation amplitude comparable to ZnTe per unit thickness.

Long coherence length suggests effective phase matching.

Abstract

Terahertz radiation by optical rectification has been observed at room temperature in a hydrogen-bonded organic molecular ferroelectric crystal, 2-phenyl malondialdehyde (PhMDA). The radiated electromagnetic wave consisted of a single-cycle terahertz pulse with a temporal width of $\sim$ 0.5 ps. The terahertz radiation amplitude divided by the sample thickness in PhMDA was nearly equivalent to that in a typical terahertz wave emitter ZnTe. This is attributable to a long coherence length in the range of 130 $\sim$ 800 $\mu$m for the terahertz radiation from PhMDA. We also discussed the possibility of PhMDA as a terahertz wave emitter in terms of the phase-matching condition.