High field terahertz plasmonics

该研究计划的目的是展示使用具有非常高峰电场的太赫兹脉冲的传感和非线性光谱学的新技术。 我们的方法是联合收割机结合我们最近的等离子体激元诱导场增强与新开发的高能量太赫兹脉冲产生技术的工作。 亚波长金属结构附近的等离子体相互作用产生增强的电磁能量密度的微小区域。 当这些结构被高能超短脉冲激发时，产生的场强将是巨大的，完全进入非线性光学领域。 这两个想法的结合，优化太赫兹辐射，将开辟一个新的境界太赫兹非线性optics.Intellectual MeritThe智力的优点，这项研究计划的发展在于敏感的新技术的时间分辨光谱研究的基础上，非线性相互作用引起的强太赫兹领域。 此外，使用太赫兹非线性光学效应检测非常少量的分析物的能力，具有高的时间和空间分辨率，将揭示新的动力学过程，以前被样本大小和不均匀性的限制所掩盖。 最后，这项工作将使非线性表面等离子体传播的研究，并将有助于我们的理解高场等离子体动力学从太赫兹到光学frequency.Broader ImpactsBy产生最高的太赫兹领域尚未报道，并研究它们与材料的相互作用，这项工作将建立利用高阶非线性相互作用的可能性。 它还将展示具有重大技术意义的太赫兹传感新技术。 更广泛地说，这项研究将通过建立高场太赫兹光物质相互作用的新学科来改变我们对太赫兹领域科学极限的看法。

ObjectiveThe aim of this research program is to demonstrate new techniques for sensing and nonlinear spectroscopy using terahertz pulses with very high peak electric fields. Our approach is to combine our recent work on plasmon-induced field enhancements with newly developed techniques for high-energy terahertz pulse generation. Plasmonic interactions near subwavelength metal structures give rise to tiny regions of enhanced electromagnetic energy density. When these structures are excited by high-energy ultrashort pulses, the resulting field strengths will be huge, well into the regime of nonlinear optics. The combination of these two ideas, optimized for terahertz radiation, will open up a new realm of terahertz nonlinear optics.Intellectual MeritThe intellectual merit of this research program lies in the development of sensitive new techniques for time-resolved spectroscopic studies based on nonlinear interactions induced by strong terahertz fields. In addition, the ability to detect very small quantities of an analyte using terahertz nonlinear optical effects, with high temporal and spatial resolution, will reveal new dynamical processes previously obscured by limitations of sample size and inhomogeneity. Finally, this work will enable the study of nonlinear surface plasmon propagation, and will contribute to our understanding of high-field plasmon dynamics from terahertz to optical frequencies.Broader ImpactsBy generating the highest terahertz fields yet reported and studying their interaction with materials, this work will establish the possibility of exploiting higher-order nonlinear interactions. It will also demonstrate new techniques for terahertz-based sensing, which are of great technological importance. More broadly, this research will change our view of the limits of science in the THz regime by establishing a new discipline of high-field terahertz light-matter interactions.