Broadband Anisotropic Optical Properties of the Terahertz Generator HMQ-TMS Organic Crystal

Abstract

HMQ-TMS (2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)-1-methylquinolinium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate) is a recently discovered anisotropic organic crystal that can be exploited for the production of broadband high-intensity terahertz (THz) radiation through the optical rectification (OR) technique. HMQ-TMS plays a central role in THz technology due to its broad transparency range, large electro-optic coefficient and coherence length, and excellent crystal properties. However, its anisotropic optical properties have not been deeply researched yet. Here, from polarized reflectance and transmittance measurements along the x 1 and x 3 axes of a HMQ-TMS single-crystal, we extract both the refraction index n and the extinction coefficient k between 50 and 35,000 cm − 1 . We further measure the THz radiation generated by optical rectification at different infrared (IR) wavelengths and along the two x 1 and x 3 axes. These data highlight the remarkable anisotropic linear and nonlinear optical behavior of HMQ-TMS crystals, expanding the knowledge of its properties and applications from the THz to the UV region.