Advanced Photonics Nexus, Volume. 4, Issue 3, 036004(2025)

Terahertz vortices with tunable topological charges from a laser–plasma channel

Linzheng Wang1...2, Yanping Chen1,2,*, Chen Wang1,2, Huanyu Song1,2, Jinyu Hua1,2, Rong Huang1,2, Min Chen1,2, Jie Zhang1,2,3, and Zhengming Sheng1,23,* |Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Physics and Astronomy, Key Laboratory for Laser and Plasma (MOE), Shanghai, China
  • 2Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Collaborative Innovation Centre of IFSA, Shanghai, China
  • 3Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai, China
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    Figures & Tables(3)
    Schematic of THz radiation in a parabolic plasma channel. (a) Schematic of the laser trajectory in a cylindrical spiral along the channel and the generated conical THz radiation with an open angle of 2α. (b) Illustration of the laser injection conditions from the side view in the x-y plane with an initial offset distance on the z-axis and the transverse density profile of the plasma channel. (c) Transverse distributions of the THz radiation at different positions along the x-axis at x=0,Λ0/4,Λ0/2,3Λ0/4 as marked in panel (b). (d) Snapshots of the transverse electric field associated with the THz radiation around the plasma channel at x=0,Λ0/4,Λ0/2,3Λ0/4, where the field strength is normalized by meω0c/e or ∼4000 GV/m for a wavelength of 0.8 μm.
    3D PIC simulation results. (a) Laser trajectories found in the simulation under two different laser injection conditions. The arrows denote the chirality of the trajectories. (b) Contour of the THz radiation. The display threshold of the THz electric field is 7.8 MV/m. The color of the contour is only associated with the position away from the plasma channel center. (c) Phase distribution of the THz radiation collected at t=2300 T0. (d) Waveforms of the THz radiation collected at a radius of 100 μm from the channel center [marked in panel (c) as the green dashed circle] for different azimuth angles φ.
    Manipulation of the OAM of the THz radiation. (a) THz radiation spectra under different offset distances z0. (b) Simulated THz central frequencies and radiation angles under different z0 while θy=88.5 deg. The blue solid line gives the calculated plasma frequency at the laser centroid. The red solid line is a fitting of α with α(deg)=4.46 lg[z0+0.8 (μm)]+1.18. (c) Calculated ℓ utilizing the calculation and fitting lines in panel (b) and the simulated peak amplitude of the THz radiation under different z0 while θy=88.5 deg. The blue dots give the calculated ℓ with the simulation results in panel (b). (d) Phase distribution of the THz radiation under the injection condition of z0=5 λ0 and θy=88.5 deg. (e) Phase distribution of the THz radiation under the injection condition of z0=12.5 λ0 and θy=88.5 deg. (f) Phase distribution of the THz radiation under the injection condition of z0=10 λ0 and θy=91.5 deg. (g) THz conversion efficiency under the injection condition of z0=10 λ0 and θy=88.5 deg after different propagation lengths L.
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    Linzheng Wang, Yanping Chen, Chen Wang, Huanyu Song, Jinyu Hua, Rong Huang, Min Chen, Jie Zhang, Zhengming Sheng, "Terahertz vortices with tunable topological charges from a laser–plasma channel," Adv. Photon. Nexus 4, 036004 (2025)

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    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: Jan. 8, 2025

    Accepted: Mar. 14, 2025

    Published Online: Apr. 14, 2025

    The Author Email: Chen Yanping (yanping.chen@sjtu.edu.cn), Sheng Zhengming (zmsheng@sjtu.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.1117/1.APN.4.3.036004

    CSTR:32397.14.1.APN.4.3.036004

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