Open AccessSelf-referenced single-shot THz detection
Author(s) -
Brandon Russell,
Benjamin K. Ofori-Okai,
Zhijiang Chen,
Matthias C. Hoffmann,
Ying Y. Tsui,
S. H. Glenzer
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.016140
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , optics , single shot , laser , waveform , polarization (electrochemistry) , shot noise , terahertz spectroscopy and technology , physics , orthogonal polarization spectral imaging , materials science , optoelectronics , detector , chemistry , quantum mechanics , voltage
We demonstrate a self-referencing method to reduce noise in a single-shot terahertz detection scheme. By splitting a single terahertz pulse and using a reflective echelon, both the signal and reference terahertz time-domain waveforms were measured using one laser pulse. Simultaneous acquisition of these waveforms significantly reduces noise originating from shot-to-shot fluctuations. We show that correlation function based referencing, which is not limited to polarization dependent measurements, can achieve a noise floor that is comparable to state-of-the-art polarization-gated balanced detection. Lastly, we extract the DC conductivity of a 30 nm free-standing gold film using a single THz pulse. The measured value of σ 0 = 1.3 ± 0.4 × 10 7 S m -1 is in good agreement with the value measured by four-point probe, indicating the viability of this method for measuring dynamical changes and small signals.