Spatio-spectral characteristics of ultra-broadband THz emission from two-colour photoexcited gas plasmas and their impact for nonlinear spectroscopy

Abstract

We present a characterization of the combined spatial and spectral properties of the terahertz (THz) and mid-infrared emission from gas plasmas generated and driven by two-colour femtosecond optical pulses. For its use in nonlinear spectroscopy, the impact of the relatively complex spatial profile for both broadband (∼ 10 THz) and ultra-broadband (> 100 THz) emission needs to be considered, in particular for experiments based on z -scan techniques. Here we apply spatially resolved measurements based on both field autocorrelation and sum-frequency (up-conversion) detection. Based on these results, we present simulations of the ultra-broadband profile during its passage through a focal region. In addition to the inherent features of the emission profile due to the generation mechanism in the plasma filament, we also analyse the role of the semconductor (silicon) wafer typically placed after the plasma to discard the optical pump beams, whose photoexcitation also can play a role in the resultant THz profile.