Tailoring the spectra of terahertz emission from CdTe and ZnTe electro-optic crystals

Abstract

We compare the spectral amplitude of terahertz pulses generated using difference-frequency mixing, via the second-order nonlinear process in CdTe and ZnTe, with numerical model calculations using the nonlinear Maxwell equation. We have found that the spectral details of the generated terahertz pulses from CdTe are well explained by considering the effects of optical and terahertz absorptions, diffraction, and the frequency dependence of nonlinear coefficients. This method allows us to design tailored compound materials with improved versatility for generating specific terahertz pulse shapes.