Detection and generation of THz pulses with the use of lithium niobate sandwich-structure and other birefringent materials

Experimental results on Cherenkov-type nonlinear optical generation and detection of pulsed terahertz radiation by using a structure with a thin lithium niobate layer attached to an output Si prism are presented. The structure provides high optical-to-terahertz conversion efficiency for a broad range of laser pump wavelengths and high detection sensitivity.