Subpicosecond electro-optic shock waves

Abstract

When an extremely short optical pulse is focused into an electro-optic material, a moving polarization is produced which radiates in a Cerenkov-like cone. At the boundary of this shock wave, the electric field consists of an extremely fast electrical transient with a correspondingly wide spectral distribution extending well into the far infrared. When appropriately coupled out of the material, this shock wave can be used as a fast electronic impulse generator or far-infrared source without requiring subminiature transmission structures to guide the signal.