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Theoretical Exploration of Terahertz Single-Photon Detection and Imaging by Nonlinear Optical Frequency Up-Conversion

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Abstract

Terahertz single-photon detection and imaging have attracted full attention recently. Nonlinear optical frequency up-conversion is a promising technique that can be expected to satisfy this demand thanks to its high sensitivity and fast response. In this paper, theoretical analysis and numerical calculations based on the organic salt 4′-dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate (DAST) crystal were performed to show that the optimization of the detection of terahertz is different from that of the generation of terahertz, including the use of difference-frequency generation (DFG) technique, the larger thickness of the crystal, and especially the selection of the polarization direction of the pumping laser. For two different polarization configurations, the photons of the up-converted signal light both can be amplified compared with the number of incident terahertz photons under some optimal designs of the nonlinear frequency conversion process. Therefore, terahertz single-photon detection can be realized with single-photon detectors (SPDs) or even possibly with ordinary avalanche photodiodes (APDs). Furthermore, for terahertz single-photon imaging, the frequency up-conversion with the pumping laser polarized along b-axis of DAST crystal has a better performance, which is rarely used in terahertz generation.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ying Ma from Shandong University for a revision in the language of the paper.

Funding

This work is supported in part by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. ZR2017MF038), the Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University (Grant No. 2016TB004), and the Opening Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIMIT, CAS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Laser & Infrared System (Shandong University), Ministry of Education, Qingdao, 266200, China

    Xiaoqin Yin, Junliang Liu, Shuzhen Fan, Yongfu Li, Zhaojun Liu, Xian Zhao & Jiaxiong Fang

  2. Center for Optics Research and Engineering (CORE), Shandong University, Qingdao, 266200, China

    Junliang Liu, Shuzhen Fan, Yongfu Li, Xian Zhao & Jiaxiong Fang

  3. School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266200, China

    Junliang Liu & Zhaojun Liu

  4. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Laser Technology and Application, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266200, China

    Shuzhen Fan, Yongfu Li & Zhaojun Liu

  5. Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200083, China

    Jiaxiong Fang

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  1. Xiaoqin Yin
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Correspondence to Shuzhen Fan.

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Yin, X., Liu, J., Fan, S. et al. Theoretical Exploration of Terahertz Single-Photon Detection and Imaging by Nonlinear Optical Frequency Up-Conversion. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 41, 1267–1279 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-020-00734-x

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