Terahertz generation by mixing of two

super-Gaussian laser beams in collisional

plasma
Cite as: Phys. Plasmas 21, 083105 (2014); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4891878
Submitted: 01 July 2014 • Accepted: 21 July 2014 • Published Online: 05 August 2014

Divya Singh and Hitendra K. Malik

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Phys. Plasmas 21, 083105 (2014); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4891878 21, 083105

© 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

 PHYSICS OF PLASMAS 21, 083105 (2014)

Terahertz generation by mixing of two super-Gaussian laser beams in

collisional plasma
Divya Singh1,2 and Hitendra K. Malik1,a)
1
Plasma Waves and Particle Acceleration Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India
2
Department of Physics and Electronics, Rajdhani College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110 015, India
(Received 1 July 2014; accepted 21 July 2014; published online 5 August 2014)
Considering a realistic situation, where electron-neutral collisions persist in plasma, analytical calcu-
lations are carried out for the Terahertz (THz) radiation generation by beating of two Super-
Gaussian (SG) lasers of index p. The competency of these lasers over Gaussian lasers is discussed in
detail with respect to the effects of collision and beam width on the THz field amplitude and effi-
ciency of the mechanism. A critical transverse distance of the peak of the THz field is defined that
shows a dependence on the index of SG lasers. Although electron-neutral collisions and larger beam
width lead to the drastic reduction in the THz field when the SG lasers are used in the plasma, the ef-
ficiency of the mechanism remains much larger than the case of Gaussian lasers. Moreover, the
higher index SG lasers produce stronger and focused THz radiation. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4891878]

I. INTRODUCTION investigated the THz radiation generation by tunnel ioniza-

tion of a gas jet by employing superposed field of femtosec-
Terahertz (THz) radiation in the frequency range of
ond laser pulses impinging onto it after passing through an
0.1–10 THz lying between microwave (MW) and IR regions
axicon.17 Cherenkov wake excited by a short laser pulse has
has potential applications and utility in wide ranges of areas,
been exploited theoretically by Yoshii et al.18 to realize the
because of which investigators are so keen to find out further
THz radiation. Yugami et al.19 have experimentally excited
possibilities in this part of the spectrum. The THz radiations
ion-wave wakefield by the resonant absorption of a short
are being used for material characterization, medical imag-
pulsed microwave with plasma and observed radiation from
ing, tomography, topography, remote sensing,1 chemical and
Cherenkov wakes in a magnetised plasma.20 By focussing
security identification,2,3 etc. Nowadays, a variety of THz
the fundamental and second harmonic lasers onto air, THz
sources is commercially available, but these sources are
radiation has been obtained by Sheng et al.21 via mode con-
large and relatively expensive to operate. Therefore, a lot of
version of large amplitude plasma wake field excited in the
research is being carried out for achieving suitable THz sour-
presence of an axial density gradient. Manouchehrizadeh and
ces. Faure et al.4 have proposed a scheme for the develop-
Dorranian22 have studied the effect of obliqueness of exter-
ment of table top tunable THz source. Different groups
nal magnetic field on the characteristics of magnetized
around the globe have taken up different schemes for gener-
plasma wakefield, which can be used for the THz radiation
ating THz sources.5,6 Conventional schemes of the genera-
generation.23 Antonsen et al.24 have used a corrugated
tion of THz sources involve the usage of electrooptic-crystal
plasma channel for phase matched THz radiation generation
(EO crystal), such as ZnSe, GaP, LiNbO3, or photo conduc-
by the ponderomotive force of a laser pulse.
tive antenna (PCA), superluminous laser pulse interaction
This is clear that many researchers have made use of
with large band gap semiconductors and dielectric.7–13 Wang
plasma as a medium for THz radiation generation, but in
et al.14 have observed an efficient THz radiation by mid IR
most of the cases the electron-neutral collisions have not
few cycle pulses from gas targets. Ropagnol et al.15 and Al-
been taken into account. Since the collisions are very much
Naib et al.16 have obtained intense THz radiation experimen-
integrated part of the plasma dynamics which cannot be
tally at low frequencies using an inter-digitated ZnSe large
ignored, we solve the problem of laser beating in a colli-
aperture PCA and also studied the effect of local field
sional plasma using super-Gaussian (SG) laser beams for
enhancement on the nonlinear THz response of a Si-based
THz radiation generation. By comparing the results with the
metamaterial. However, the limitation of using crystal is the
ones obtained by Gaussian lasers, we understand that the SG
material breakdown at high powers, low conversion effi-
pulses although produce stronger radiation but are more sus-
ciency, and narrow bandwidth of emitted THz radiation. In
ceptible to the collisions of electrons and neutrals in the
order to overcome these limitations, plasma has been
plasma.
attempted as a nonlinear medium for the generation of THz
radiation using highly intense ultra short laser pulses in pico
II. CALCULATION OF THz FIELD
or femto second range. Our group has analytically
We consider a plasma where electron-neutral collisions
(frequency ) take place and which has space-periodically
a)
Electronic addresses: hkmalik@hotmail.com and hkmalik@physics.iitd.ac.in modulated density N ¼ N0 þ Naeiaz together with Na as the

1070-664X/2014/21(8)/083105/5/$30.00 21, 083105-1 C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

V
083105-2 D. Singh and H. K. Malik Phys. Plasmas 21, 083105 (2014)

amplitude and a as the wave number of the density ripples. frequency x but its wave number is k þ a, which we have
Such density ripples may be produced using various techni- defined as k0 . The wave number k0 is different from the one
ques involving transmissive ring grating and a patterned of ponderomotive force. However, with the application of
mask where the control of ripple parameters might be possi- density ripples, the wave numbers can be tuned29 and reso-
ble by changing the groove period, groove structure, and nant excitation of the THz radiation can be realized through
duty cycle in such a grating and by adjusting the period and this nonlinear current. The field of the THz radiation (say
size of the masks.25–28 The  fields of the lasers are taken as ETHz) is governed by the following wave equation, which is
~j ¼ E0L exp½ð y Þp exp iðkj z  xj tÞ y^ together with bw as
E obtained from the Maxwell’s equations:
bw
the beam width of the lasers and j ¼ 1, 2, where p > 2 is for
  2
SG beams. In view of the field amplitude variation in the y- ~ r:
~THz þ r
r2 E ~THz ¼  4pix J~NL þ x eE
~E ~THz : (4)
direction and laser beating, nonlinear ponderomotive force is c2 c2
realized at the frequency x ¼ x1  x2 and wave number 2
xp NL
Here, e ¼ 1  ve ¼ 1  ixðixÞ , and the y-component of J~
k ¼ k1  k2. Initially, the plasma electrons are under the
would be suitable for the THz emission. Following the
action of laser fields, and the force acting on them (mass m)
t
@~ ~j  method used in Ref. 29, we obtain the normalized amplitude
is expressed through equation of motion m @tj ¼ eE
of the field of THz radiation as:
m~t j where collisional force is also taken into account. The
laser fields impart oscillatory velocities to the electrons, 2 y
p
 p1
given by ~
~j
eE
t j ¼ mðixj Þ . The nonlinear ponderomotive force of E0THz pNa eE0L xx2p exp ðbw Þ y
¼
the lasers due to gradients in their fields is obtained as E0L 2N0 mbw bw
" #
ðx þ i Þ
"   #  Re   :
~NL ¼ e2 E20L y p ðx1 þ i Þðx2  i Þ x2  x2p þ ix 2
F p exp 2
2mðix1   Þðix2 þ  Þ bw (5)
"   #
2p y p1 Here, it would be worth mentioning that this field is obtained
 y^  ik^z exp½iðkz  xtÞ: (1)
bw bw only if the following phase matching condition is met:
2 !12 3
Under the influence of the ponderomotive force, the electron   xp2
ac x 4 5
oscillations become nonlinear, leading to the nonlinear den- Re ¼ Re 1  1 : (6)
NL ~ F
ve N0 r ~NL xp xp xðx þ i Þ
n0
sity perturbations N NL ¼ mixðixÞ ~ F
r ~p ¼  p
, to- 
mx2p  x2p
1
2
ac x
x2p 2 This also means that xp ¼ xp  1  x2 þ2  1 .
gether with ve ¼  xðxþiÞ and x2p ¼ 4pNm0 e . Due to the
nonlinear perturbations in electron density, some local field III. EFFICIENCY OF THz RADIATION MECHANISM
(space charge potential) is developed, which introduces the
~ ~ ~ ~ The efficiency of THz radiation generation (say g) is
N0 err/
linear density perturbations N L ¼ mixðixÞ ¼  ve r r/
4pe . Now defined as the ratio of energy of the THz radiation to the
we calculate the resultant field or the force under the com-
energy of the incident lasers, i.e., g ¼ hW THzE i
hWLE i . Following Ref.
bined effect of linear and nonlinear density perturbations
using Poisson’s equation r~  r/
~ ¼ 4peðN L þ N NL Þ. Hence, 30, the energy density of the lasers, i.e., htheenergy per
i unit
x2
1
volume, is calculated as hWLE i ¼ 8p @
e @x x 1  xp2 hjEj2 i,
x2p ð  ~NL
ixÞF h  i
~L ¼ er/
~ ¼ p x2
F h i: (2) 1
while that of the THz field is hWTHzE i ¼ 8p @
e @x x 1  xp2
2
ixð1 þ ve Þ ð  ixÞ hjETHz j2 i. Based on this, the total average energy densities
are evaluated and the efficiency g of the THz radiation is
The resultant nonlinear electron velocities under the action obtained as
~L and nonlinear force F
of linear force F ~NL are obtained as
p " y p 
#2

2pna pe3 E0L x expðbw Þ
NL NL

t 0y
~ ¼
~
ixF py
t 0z ¼
~
ixF pz y p1
m½ixðixÞx2p  ;~ m½ixðixÞx2p , which yield the non- g¼
m2 b w bw
linear oscillatory current density as 2 3
ðx 2 þ  2 Þ
1 ix e2 E20L  4  2 h  i2 5: (7)
NL 2
J~ ¼  N 0 e h i 2 2
x1 þ  x2 þ  2 2 2 2
x  xp þ x  2
2 m ixð  ixÞ  x2p 2mðix1   Þðix2 þ  Þ
"   #"   #
y p 2p y p1
 exp 2 y^  ik^z eiðkzxtÞ ; IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
bw bw bw
(3) Figure 1 shows the transverse profile of electric field of
THz radiation with a dependence on electron-neutral colli-
where N 0 ¼ Na eiaz . After putting N 0 ¼ Na eiaz in Eq. (3), it sion frequency  and the index of lasers p. Clearly, in all the
can be seen that the nonlinear current oscillates at the cases, the field attains a maximum value at a particular value
083105-3 D. Singh and H. K. Malik Phys. Plasmas 21, 083105 (2014)

FIG. 1. Transverse profile of THz radiation field with different values of SG

index p and collision frequency , when x1 ¼ 2.4  1014 rad/s,
xp ¼ 2.0  1013 rad/s, E0 ¼ 5.0  108 V/m, bw ¼ 0.01 cm, and Na/N0 ¼ 0.3. FIG. 2. 3D surface plot of variation of normalized THz radiation field
with normalized transverse distance y from the z-axis and normalised den-
sity ripples, for different values of p and , x1 ¼ 2.4  1014 rad/s,
xp ¼ 2.0  1013 rad/s, E0 ¼ 5.0  108 V/m, and bw ¼ 0.01 cm.
of y/bw or y (for the fixed beam width bw). This is attributed
to the maximum magnitude of ponderomotive force at the expected, the efficiency is greatly reduced for the larger
said value of y for the fixed p and bw parameters. The graphs beam width. This effect is more significant in the case of
marked with p ¼ 2 correspond to the case of Gaussian lasers, lasers having higher index p. A comparison of graphs
whereas the graphs with p > 2 correspond to the SG lasers. A marked with p ¼ 2, 4, and 6 also infers that the efficiency in
comparison of all the graphs reveals that the emitted field the case of Gaussian lasers shows weak dependence on the
profile is quite symmetrical for the case of SG lasers of beam width. This is in accordance with the gradient in inten-
higher index. This can be understood as follows. The nonlin- sity of lasers. In case of SG lasers, a small change in beam
ear current is generated by the electrons movement, which is width leads to the larger variation in the intensity gradient.
connected with the intensity gradient of the lasers. If we look We can also estimate the rate of decrease in efficiency with
at the front and rear sides of the laser pulses, this gradient beam width in collisionless and collisional plasmas. The
assumes opposite directions in these regions. In view of this, graphs marked with  ¼ 0.05xp also represent the case of
the electron movement will have to be reversed. In case of collisionless plasma, as there is a very little change in effi-
the Gaussian lasers, these electrons do not get response time ciency (as per our calculation) till 1/100th of xp as the colli-
to traverse their original path while moving back and hence, sion frequency. However, the graphs marked with  ¼ 0.5xp
an asymmetry is introduced in their movement. However, in show a drastic reduction in the efficiency for larger index
case of the SG lasers, the electrons have sufficient response lasers and the reduction in the efficiency in the case of p ¼ 2
time to do so, which leads to symmetry in their movement is minimum. It means that collisional effects are seen mini-
and hence, the emitted THz radiations with symmetrical mally when the Gaussian lasers are used for the THz radia-
profile are obtained in case of the SG lasers having larger tion generation.
index p. Figures 1–3 show that the SG lasers of larger index p
A comparison of the graphs marked with p ¼ 2, 4, and 6 produce stronger THz radiation along with higher efficiency
in Fig. 1 infers that the effect of collision frequency is much
significant when p is larger. Since the emitted radiation
acquires lower field in the presence of larger collision fre-
quency, it can be concluded that the SG lasers are more sen-
sitive to the collision frequency for the THz radiation
generation in a collisional plasma. It means that the field of
THz radiation falls at a faster rate with collision frequency
when SG lasers of higher index are used. However, SG lasers
produce stronger field compared with the case of Gaussian
lasers. Moreover, SG lasers are more suitable to produce
stronger THz radiation when the density ripples of larger
amplitudes are produced in the plasma, which is evident
from Fig. 2. This is also clear that by enhancing the density
ripples, we can tremendously increase the electric field of
the THz radiation, if the SG lasers are employed in place of
Gaussian lasers.
The beam width bw is found to play an important role to
the mechanism of generation of THz radiation using plasma. FIG. 3. Variation of efficiency of THz radiation mechanism with beam
Hence, we examine the same on the efficiency of the present width bw for different values of p and , when x1 ¼ 2.4  1014 rad/s,
THz radiation generation mechanism through Fig. 3. As xp ¼ 2.0  1013 rad/s, E0 ¼ 5.0  108 V/m, y ¼ 0.8bw, and Na/N0 ¼ 0.4.
083105-4 D. Singh and H. K. Malik
FIG. 4. Dependence of critical transverse distance y0 on different values of
SG index.
of the mechanism. Another role of lasers index is that we can
focus the peak of radiation field at a desired position (Fig. 1)
by optimizing the value of p. In order to uncover the role of
1
p, we have established a relation y0 ¼ ½p1 pb
w between the
2p
position y and index p. Here, y0 is a critical transverse dis-
tance for the peak position of the emitted THz radiation.
Figure 4 shows that this value of y0 is enhanced with the
higher SG index p. Initially, there is a significant increase in
y0, but later the values of y0 get saturated for higher values
of p; for example, y0 saturates after p ¼ 10. Since the SG
lasers with p > 10 (larger p) appear to be the same as rectan-
gular shape lasers (Fig. 5), we can say that very strong THz
radiation can be achieved when the rectangular lasers are
used for the radiation generation. However, the position of
peaks of THz field remains almost unaltered in that case.
In the present scheme, the ponderomotive force of the
laser plays an important role, as it generates nonlinear cur-
rent. Stronger ponderomotive force leads to the stronger cur-
rent and hence, the THz radiation of higher field amplitude.
Since the SG profile lasers have steep gradient in their inten-
sity (Fig. 5), it is obvious that stronger ponderomotive force
FIG. 5. Profiles of electric field of SG lasers for different index p, when
E0L ¼ 5  108 V/m and bw ¼ 0.01 cm. Here, p ¼ 2 corresponds to the
Gaussian laser.
Phys. Plasmas 21, 083105 (2014)
FIG. 6. Variation of normalized wave number of periodic structure of den-
sity ripples with normalized electron-neutral collision frequency for differ-
ent values of laser beat wave frequency.
is realized in the SG case only. For this reason, we have
selected the SG laser beams. The present mechanism talks
about the resonant excitation of THz radiation, when the
condition (6) is satisfied. In order to match the wave numbers
of ponderomotive force and nonlinear current, density rip-
ples with periodicity 2p/a are required to be constructed in
the plasma. Hence, ac/xp represents the normalized wave
number corresponding to the density ripples. Figure 6 shows
the variation of ac/xp with the normalized collision fre-
quency /xp for different values of x. This can be seen that
a decreases with  when x > xp, whereas it increases for the
reasonable collision frequency when x < xp. It means that
the distance between the density ripples should be adjusted
accordingly. If x > xp, then the separation should be larger
between the density ripples, otherwise (for x < xp) these
need to be constructed at smaller distances in order to get the
efficient emission of THz radiation. If we look at the reso-
nance condition, we find that the condition x ¼ xp obtained
in the collisionless plasma is departed due to the electron-
neutral collisions in the present case. Thus, the resonance
condition reads x ¼ (x2   2)1/2. This also means that the
frequency of the THz radiation in the collisional plasma is
somewhat lower than the frequency obtained in the collision-
less plasma. In view of this, the field of THz radiation shall
attain lower amplitude in the collisional plasma. The decay
in the field amplitude and hence, the efficiency is attributed
to the energy and momentum loss involved in electron-
neutral collision process. However, in the plasma, where
  x, this condition remains almost the same as in colli-
sionless plasma.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Our analytical calculations show that the resonant exci-
tation of THz radiation by mixing of two SG lasers in the
presence of electron-neutral collisions is quite crucial, since
these collisions affect the entire process of THz generation
very significantly. Maximum energy transfer is found to take
place when the tuning of wave numbers of ponderomotive
force and nonlinear current occurs with the help of wave
number a of the density ripples. The density ripples at the
083105-5 D. Singh and H. K. Malik Phys. Plasmas 21, 083105 (2014)

12
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