Ultrafast terahertz spectroscopy accesses the {em dark} excitonic ground state in resonantly-excited (6,5) SWNTs via internal, direct dipole-allowed transitions between lowest lying dark-bright pair state $sim$6 meV. An analytical model reproduces th
e response which enables quantitative analysis of transient densities of dark excitons and {em e-h} plasma, oscillator strength, transition energy renormalization and dynamics. %excitation-induced renormalization. Non-equilibrium, yet stable, quasi-1D quantum states with dark excitonic correlations rapidly emerge even with increasing off-resonance photoexcitation and experience a unique crossover to complex phase-space filling of %a complex distribution between both dark and bright pair states, different from dense 2D/3D excitons influenced by the thermalization, cooling and ionization to free carriers.
Emerging technology based on artificial materials containing metallic structures has raised the prospect for unprecedented control of terahertz waves through components like filters, absorbers and polarizers. The functionality of these devices is sta
tic by the very nature of their metallic or polaritonic composition, although some degree of tunability can be achieved by incorporating electrically biased semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate a photonic structure by projecting the optical image of a metal mask onto a thin GaAs substrate using a femtosecond pulsed laser source. We show that the resulting high-contrast pattern of photo- excited carriers can create diffractive elements operating in transmission. With the metal mask replaced by a digital micromirror device, our photo-imprinted photonic structures provide a route to terahertz components with reconfigurable functionality.
The terahertz spectral regime, ranging from about 0.1 to 15 THz, is one of the least explored yet most technologically transformative spectral regions. One current challenge is to develop efficient and compact terahertz emitters/detectors with a broa
dband and gapless spectrum that can be tailored for various pump photon energies. Here we demonstrate efficient single-cycle broadband THz generation, ranging from about 0.1 to 4 THz, from a thin layer of split-ring resonators with few tens of nanometers thickness by pumping at the telecommunications wavelength of 1.5 micrometer (200 THz). The terahertz emission arises from exciting the magnetic-dipole resonance of the split-ring resonators and quickly decreases under off-resonance pumping. This, together with pump polarization dependence and power scaling of the terahertz emission, identifies the role of optically induced nonlinear currents in split-ring resonators. We also reveal a giant sheet nonlinear susceptibility $sim$10$^{-16}$ m$^2$V$^{-1}$ that far exceeds thin films and bulk non-centrosymmetric materials.
