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The use of intense light to control transient properties of quantum materials is a subject of current interest in ultrafast condensed matter physics. Here, a new up-conversion pathway for the optical control of Raman-active modes is demonstrated via a terahertz field-driven nonlinear process in the strongly-correlated metal, V2O3.

Thermal effects limit the speed of the electrically driven insulator-metal transition in V2O3 to tens of picoseconds. Here the authors show that under an intense THz-electric-field excitation the thermal regime can be overcome, achieving a purely electronic transition on ultrafast timescales.

Recently, fabrication processes have realised three-dimensional nanoporous graphene. Here, the authors reveal two-dimensional Dirac plasmons in three-dimensional nanoporous graphene disclosing strong plasmonic absorptions tunable from terahertz to mid-infrared via controllable doping level and porosity.

The terahertz response of topological insulator surface states, in which relativistic electrons are protected from backscattering, possesses potential optic and plasmonic applications. Here, the authors demonstrate a nonlinear absorption response of Bi2Se3to terahertz electric fields.

The ultra-short electron beams, produced through the velocity bunching compression technique at the SPARC_LAB test Facility (Frascati, Italy), are used to produce Coherent Transition Radiation in the terahertz (THz) range. This paper reports on the main features of this THz source, which have a spectral coverage up to 5 THz, a pulse duration down to 100 fs, and an energy per pulse on the order of tens of μJ. These figures of merits open the possibility to apply this source for nonlinear and THz pump-probe experiments in Solid-State Physics and material science.