Generation of THz radiation using bulk, periodically and aperiodically poled lithium niobate – Part 2: Experiments

Optical rectification of femtosecond pulses in nonlinear materials is an efficient method to generate ultra-short terahertz (THz) pulses in a wide frequency range extending from 100 GHz to well above 10 THz. Lithium niobate (LN) is well suited for such a purpose despite the high absorption in the THz range. In this part we will focus on the various experimental realizations to produce THz radiation in bulk, periodically, aperiodically and two-dimensionally poled LN. The possible bandwidth, tunability and the techniques to overcome the high absorption will be discussed as well.