Terahertz polarization imaging

We present a new method to measure the polarization state of a terahertz pulse by using a modified electro-optic sampling setup. To illustrate the power of this method, we show two examples in which the knowledge of the polarization of the terahertz pulse is essential for interpreting the results: s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2005-10, Vol.30 (20), p.2802-2804
Main Authors: VAN DER VALK, Nick C. J, VAN DER MAREL, Willemine A. M, PLANKEN, Paul C. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electromagnetic Fields
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Image Enhancement - methods
Infrared Rays
Microscopy, Polarization - methods
Microwaves
Nonlinear optics
Optics
Physics
Polarization
Ultrafast processes
optical pulse generation and pulse compression
Wave optics
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Summary:We present a new method to measure the polarization state of a terahertz pulse by using a modified electro-optic sampling setup. To illustrate the power of this method, we show two examples in which the knowledge of the polarization of the terahertz pulse is essential for interpreting the results: spectroscopy measurements on polystyrene foam and terahertz images of a plastic coin. Both measurements show a sample-induced rotation of the terahertz electric field vector, which is surprisingly large and is a strong function of frequency. A promising aspect of our setup is the possibility of simultaneously measuring both transversal electric field components.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.30.002802