The absorption coefficient of magnesium-doped near-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystal is measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in a frequency range of 0.2 THz^0.9 THz at room temperature. The absorption coefficient is modulated by external optical pump fields. Experimental results show that the absorption coefficient of near-SLN:Mg crystal is approximately in a range of 22 cm- 1_35 cm- 1 in a frequency range of 0.2 THz-0.9 THz and tunable up to nearly 15%. Further theoretical analysis reveals that the variation of absorption coefficient is related to the number of light-induced carriers, domain reversal process, and OH- absorption in this crystal.
This paper presents a set of equations describing the terahertz generation and electro-optic detection based on optical rectification in zincblende crystals. The dependence of terahertz emission efficiency on the polarization of incident beam and crystal-orientation is discussed. For the experimental setup with a transceiver which transmits and detects terahertz radiation in the same crystal, we have demonstrated the optimal combination of both parameters above to optimize the working efficiency. Equations supplied in this paper are valid for zincblende crystals with arbitrary crystal- orientation and every possible polarization of an incident beam, which are of great significance for the optimization of a system.