Laser-driven few-cycle Terahertz sources with high average power

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advancements in high-average-power ultrafast laser-driven terahertz sources, highlighting their potential to significantly improve applications in spectroscopy and other fields.

Contribution

It discusses recent progress, challenges, and future prospects in broadband terahertz sources powered by high-power Ytterbium lasers, advancing the field of THz time-domain spectroscopy.

Findings

High-power Yb lasers enable watt-level THz sources.

Recent broadband THz sources approach watt-level power.

Challenges include scaling and system stability.

Abstract

Ultrafast laser-driven terahertz sources are gaining in popularity in an increasingly wide range of scientific and technological applications. However, many fields continue to be severely limited by the typically low average power of these sources, which restricts speed, signal-to-noise ratio, and dynamic range in numerous measurements. Conversely, the past two decades have seen spectacular progress in high average power ultrafast laser technology based on Ytterbium lasers, rendering hundreds of watts to kilowatts of average power available to this community to drive THz sources. This has opened the young field of high-average-power laserdriven THz time-domain spectroscopy, which holds the potential to revolutionize the applications of THz time-domain systems. In this perspective article, we discuss this young field and emphasize recent advancements in broadband terahertz sources utilizing high-power Yb-based ultrafast lasers as drivers, which are nearing watt-level average power. We discuss various approaches explored thus far, current challenges, prospects for scaling, and future research areas that will accelerate their implementation in applications.