Concepts and Applications of Nonlinear Terahertz Spectroscopy

Terahertz (THz) radiation with frequencies between 100 GHz and 30 THz has developed into an important tool of science and technology, with numerous applications in materials characterization, imaging, sensor technologies, and telecommunications. Recent progress in THz generation has provided ultrashort THz pulses with electric field amplitudes of up to several megavolts/cm. This development opens the new research field of nonlinear THz spectroscopy in which strong light-matter interactions are exploited to induce quantum excitations and/or charge transport and follow their nonequilibrium dynamics in time-resolved experiments. This book introduces methods of THz generation and nonlinear THz spectroscopy in a tutorial way, discusses the relevant theoretical concepts, and presents prototypical, experimental, and theoretical results in condensed matter physics. The potential of nonlinear THz spectroscopy is illustrated by recent research, including an overview of the relevant literature.

Thomas Elsaesser is a director at the Max-Born-Institute, Berlin, Germany, and a professor for experimental physics at Humboldt University, Berlin. He received a Dr. rer. nat. degree from the Technical University of Munich in 1986 and worked there as a research associate until 1993. He spent a postdoc period at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, in 1990 and joined the newly established Max-Born-Institute in 1993. Thomas is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America and has received numerous scientific awards.

Klaus Reimann has worked as a scientist at the Max-Born-Institute, Berlin, Germany in the field of ultrafast mid-infrared and THz spectroscopy since 1999. He received a Dr. rer. nat. degree from the University Dortmund in 1987. Afterwards he joined the Max-Planck-Institut fur Festkorperforschung in Stuttgart. After receiving a five-year Heisenberg- Stipendium of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, he spent time at the Universitat Dortmund and at the University of California at Berkeley doing research on nonlinear optics of semiconductors under high pressure before joining the MBI.

Woerner is a department head at the Max-Born-Institute, Berlin, Germany, and holds a lecturer qualification (Habilitation) in physics at Humboldt University, Berlin. He received a Dr. rer. nat. degree from the Technical University of Munich in 1991 and worked there as a postdoc until 1993. He then joined the Max-Born-Institute in 1993 and spent a postdoc period at Bell Laboratories (Lucent Technologies), Holmdel, in 1997.