Comparative Study of Semiconductors for Terahertz Generation by Nonlinear Optical Process: An Overview

TL;DR

This paper compares various semiconductor crystals for Terahertz generation, combining literature review and theoretical modeling to identify promising materials like Selenium for efficient THz sources.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of semiconductor optical properties and introduces new calculations for missing data, highlighting Selenium as a promising THz source.

Findings

Selenium shows high potential at higher pumping wavelengths

New theoretical models fill data gaps in semiconductor properties

Assessment of multiple semiconductors suggests promising alternatives for THz generation

Abstract

This study investigates different type of semiconductor crystals including assessing several physical characteristics and relevant parameters, which are refraction index, multiphoton absorption coefficient, electro-optic coefficient, nonlinear coefficient, phase tilting angle, and figure of merit, and mapping them for a comparison to look into options which can be promising alternative efficient sources for Terahertz (THz) generation due to the increasing day to day demand for the efficient sources. The Zinc blende Semiconductor Crystals (ZnTe, ZnSe, GaP, GaAs, and CdTe) as well as newly introduced elemental semiconductors (Selenium and Tellurium) are examined. In this study, we aimed to combine literature review to gather the scattered data about optical properties of semiconductor materials introduced here as well as theoretical calculations. Some of the missing data that is not available from previous research or literature will be calculated and modelled here based on the dielectric function and intrinsic properties of the abovementioned semiconductors. It is discovered that at a higher pumping wavelength, Selenium crystal will make the most promising source for terahertz generation due to its properties compared with the other materials assessed in this study. These freshly introduced semiconductors with different pumping conditions can lead to an optimistic view for the unprecedented efficiencies.