A new scheme of THz generation by tilted-pulse-front pumping of a LiNbO 3 plane-parallel plate

A new type of optical-to-terahertz converter, which is based on tilted-pulse-front pumping of a LiNbO 3 plane-parallel plate clamped between two dielectric prisms, has been proposed and investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The scheme allows to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional tilted-pulse-front technique with a prism-shaped LiNbO 3 crystal, such as a lateral nonuniformity of the generated terahertz beam. Conversion efficiency of the new scheme as high as 0.02-0.03%, i.e., comparable to that of the conventional tilted-pulse-front technique, has been experimentally demonstrated.