High-power terahertz pulse generation in phenolic configurationally-locked polyene single crystal

We report efficient terahertz (THz), pulse generation in a newly-developed single organic crystal OH1 (2-(3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene)malononitrile). The THz output characteristics were compared with those generated in inorganic nonlinear crystals such as ZnTe and CdZnTe. We achieved quasi single-cycle terahertz pulses at 1 kHz with an amplitude of ~8 kV/cm (peak-to-peak) at the central frequency of 0.8 THz. We believe that such high-power THz pulses can be effectively used for investigation of various nonlinear phenomena in the THz regime.