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Demonstration of Coherent Terahertz Transition Radiation from Relativistic Laser-Solid Interactions

Guo-Qian Liao1, Yu-Tong Li1,5,*, Yi-Hang Zhang1, Hao Liu1, Xu-Lei Ge2, Su Yang2, Wen-Qing Wei2, Xiao-Hui Yuan2,5,†, Yan-Qing Deng3 et al.

Bao-Jun Zhu1, Zhe Zhang1, Wei-Min Wang1,5, Zheng-Ming Sheng4,2,5, Li-Ming Chen1,5, Xin Lu1, Jing-Long Ma1, Xuan Wang1, and Jie Zhang2,5

  • 1Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • 2Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MoE) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 3College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
  • 4SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, United Kingdom
  • 5Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

  • *To whom correspondence should be addressed. ytli@iphy.ac.cn
  • †xiaohui.yuan@sjtu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 205003 – Published 20 May, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.205003

Abstract

Coherent transition radiation in the terahertz (THz) region with energies of sub-mJ/pulse has been demonstrated by relativistic laser-driven electron beams crossing the solid-vacuum boundary. Targets including mass-limited foils and layered metal-plastic targets are used to verify the radiation mechanism and characterize the radiation properties. Observations of THz emissions as a function of target parameters agree well with the formation-zone and diffraction model of transition radiation. Particle-in-cell simulations also well reproduce the observed characteristics of THz emissions. The present THz transition radiation enables not only a potential tabletop brilliant THz source, but also a novel noninvasive diagnostic for fast electron generation and transport in laser-plasma interactions.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 205003– Published 20 May, 2016
  • Received 12 January 2016

© 2016 American Physical Society

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