We report a two-layer model to describe the thermal response of continuous-wave (CW) terahertz (THz) irradiated skin. Based on the Pennes bio-heat conduction equation, the finite element method (FEM) is utilized to calculate the temperature distribution. The THz wave with a Gaussian beam profile is used to simulate the photo-thermal mechanism. The simulation results show the dynamic process of temperature increasing with irradiation time and possible thermal damage. The factors which can affect temperature distribution, such as beam radius, incident power and THz frequency, are investigated. With a beam radius of 0.5 mm, the highest temperature increase is 3.7 K/mW.
We successfully obtain a high-average-power high-stability Q-switched green laser based on diode-side-pumped composite ceramic Nd:YAG in a straight piano-concave cavity. The temperature distribution in composite ceramic Nd:YAG crystal is numerically analyzed and compared with that of conventional Nd:YAG crystal. By using a composite ceramic Nd:YAG rod and a type-II high gray track resistance KTP (HGTR-KTP) crystal, a green laser with an average output power of 165 W is obtained at a repetition rate of 25 kHz, with a diode-to-green optical conversion of 14.68%, and a pulse width of 162 ns. To the best of our knowledge, both the output power and optical-to-optical efficiency are the highest values for green laser systems with intracavity frequency doubling of this novel composite ceramic Nd:YAG laser to date. The power fluctuation at around 160 W is lower than 0.3% in 2.5 hours.
A face-to-face system of double-layer three-dimensional arrays of H-shaped plasmonic crystals is proposed, and its transmission and filtering properties are investigated in the terahertz regime. Simulation results show that our design has excellent filtering properties. It has an ultra-wide bandgap and passband with steep band-edges, and the transmittance of the passband and the forbidden band are very close to 1 and 0, respectively. As the distance between the two face-to-face plates increases, the resonance frequency exhibits a gradual blueshift from 0.88 THz to 1.30 THz. Therefore, we can dynamically control the bandwidths of bandgap and passband by adding a piezoelectric ceramic plate between the two crystal plates. Furthermore, the dispersion relations of modes and electric field distributions are presented to analyze the generation mechanisms of bandgaps and to explain the location of bandgaps and the frequency shift phenomenon. Due to the fact that our design can provide many resonant modes, the bandwidth of the bandgaps can be greatly broadened. This paper can serve as a valuable reference for the design of terahertz functional devices and three-dimensional terahertz metamaterials.
We have demonstrated a high-average-power,high-repetition-rate optical terahertz(THz)source based on difference frequency generation(DFG)in the GaSe crystal by using a near-degenerate 2μm intracavity KTP optical parametric oscillator as the pump source.The power of the 2μm dual-wavelength laser was up to 12.33 W with continuous tuning ranges of 1988.0–2196.2 nm/2278.4–2065.6 nm for two waves.Different GaSe cystal lengths have been experimentally investigated for the DFG THz source in order to optimize the THz output power,which was in good agreement with the theoretical analysis.Based on an 8 mm long GaSe crystal,the THz wave was continuously tuned from 0.21 to 3 THz.The maximum THz average power of 1.66μW was obtained at repetition rate of 10 kHz under 1.48 THz.The single pulse energy amounted to 166 pJ and the conversion efficiency from 2 μm laser to THz output was 1.68×10^(-6).The signal-to-noise ratio of the detected THz voltage was 23 dB.The acceptance angle of DFG in the GaSe crystal was measured to be 0.16°.
An asymmetric quantum well (AQW) is designed to emit terahertz (THz) waves by using difference frequency generation (DFG) with the structure of GaAs/Al0.2Ga0.8As/Al0.5Ga0.sAs. The characteristics of absorption coefficients are analysed under the parabolic and non-parabolic energy-band conditions in detail. We find that the absorption coefficients vary with the two pump optical intensities, and they reach the maxima when the pump wavelengths are given as λp1 = 9.70 μm and λp2 = 10.64 μm, respectively. Compared with non-parabolic conditions, the total absorption coefficient under parabolic conditions shows a blue shift, which is due to the increase in the energy difference between the ground and excited states. By adjusting the two pump optical intensities, the wave vector phase-matching condition inside the AQW is satisfied.