Parameter sensitivities in tilted-pulse-front based terahertz setups and their implications for high-energy terahertz source design and optimization

Despite the popularity and ubiquity of the tilted-pulse-front technique for single-cycle terahertz (THz) pulse generation, there is a deficit of experimental studies comprehensively mapping out the dependence of the performance on key setup parameters. The most critical parameters include the pulse-front tilt, the effective length of the pump pulse propagation within the crystal as well as effective length over which the THz beam interacts with the pump before it spatially walks off. Therefore, we investigate the impact of these parameters on the conversion efficiency and the shape of the THz beam via systematically scanning the 5D parameter space spanned by pump fluence, pulse-front-tilt, crystal-position (2D), and the pump size experimentally. We verify predictions so far only made by theory regarding the optimum interaction lengths and map out the impact of cascading on the THz radiation generation process. Furthermore, distortions imposed on the spatial THz beam profile for larger than optimum interaction lengths are observed. Finally, we identify the most sensitive parameters and, based on our findings, propose a robust optimization strategy for tilted-pulse-front THz setups. These findings are relevant for all THz strong-field applications in high demand of robust high-energy table-top single-cycle THz sources such as THz plasmonics, high-harmonic generation in solids as well as novel particle accelerators and beam manipulators. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement