Collection 

Special Issues on Terahertz Photonics

Right after the celebration of 10th anniversary of Light: Science & Applications (LSA) in 2022, we published eleven papers in three special issues separated by six months covering the fundamentals and applications in THz optics and photonics. These papers presenting the basic research overview or cross-cutting interdisciplinary research are contributed from the most active groups in eight countries. They are:

  • Terahertz structured light: nonparaxial Airy imaging using silicon diffractive optics by Rusnė Ivaškevičiūtė-Povilauskienė et al. (Lithuania & Poland);
  • Enhancement of THz generation in LiNbO3 waveguides via multi-bounce velocity matching by Keith Nelson et al. (USA & Germany);
  • Milliwatt terahertz harmonic generation from topological insulator metamaterials by K. J. Tielrooij et al. (Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, UK & Poland);
  • Multi-millijoule terahertz emission from laser-wakefield-accelerated electrons by Ki-Yong Kim et al. (Korea, USA & Iran,);
  • Planarized THz quantum cascade lasers for broadband coherent photonics by Urban Senica et al.  (Switzerland & Italy);
  • Rapid, noncontact, sensitive, and semiquantitative characterization of buffered hydrogen-fluoride-treated silicon wafer surfaces by terahertz emission spectroscopy by Masayoshi Tonouchi et al. (Japan);
  • Near-field terahertz nonlinear optics with blue light by Dan Mittleman et al. (USA);
  • A novel scheme for ultrashort terahertz pulse generation over a gapless wide spectral range: Raman-resonance-enhanced four-wave mixing by Yuen Ron Shen et al.  (USA & China);
  • Ultrafast terahertz emission from emerging symmetry-broken materials by Hou-Tong Chen (USA);
  • High-throughput terahertz imaging: progress and challenges by Mona Jarrahi et al. (USA);
  • Tilted pulse front pumping techniques for efficient terahertz pulse generation by János Hebling et al. (Hungary).

 

This collection serves as most updated references and detailed guidance for the active researchers in the THz photonics community. We hope these papers will stimulate and promote broader research and activities in other related fields. Our Editorial Office wishes we are all inspired for the past ten years and a healthy start to the next ten years!

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Co-Editors-in-Chief： Prof. Xi-Cheng Zhang, United States

Prof. Xi-Cheng Zhang is Endowed Parker Givens Professor of Optics, at The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, NY, a foremost institution in optics and optical physics research and education, since March 2012. He was the director of the institute from 2012 to 2017. Prior to joining UR, he pioneered world-leading research in the field of ultrafast laser-based terahertz technology and optical physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY (‘92-‘12). At RPI, he is the Eric Jonsson Professor of Science; Acting Head at the Department of Physics, Applied Physics & Astronomy; Professor of Electrical, Computer & System; and Founding Director of the Center for THz Research. He is co-founder of Zomega Terahertz Corp. With a BS (‘82) from Peking University, he earned the MS (‘83) and PhD degree (‘86) in Physics from Brown University, RI.

His honors and awards include: IRMMW-THz Society Exceptional Service Award ‘23; Foreign member of Russian Academy of Sciences ’22; Humboldt Prize, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) ‘18; Australian Academy of Science Selby Fellow (Australia) ’17; Kenneth Button Prize ’14 (Int. Soc IRMMW-THz); William F. Meggers Award ’12 (OSA); Photonics Society William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award ’11 (IEEE); William H. Wiley Award ’09 (Rensselaer); the Trustee Celebration of Faculty Achievement Awards ’11, ’10, ’09, ’08, ‘07, ‘06, ’04, ‘03, ‘02, ‘01; Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Fellow of American Physics Society (APS); Fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); Fellow of Optica (formally OSA); Heinrich Hertz Lecturer (Germany); K.C. Wong Fellow ’02; Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE/LEOS ‘98-99 & 99-00; Rensselaer’s Early Career Award, ‘96; Cottrell Scholar Award, Research Corporation ‘95; K.C. Wong Prize, K.C. Wong Foundation /Hong Kong, ‘95; CAREER Award (previous NSF-NYI), National Science Foundation ‘95; AFOSR-SRPF Fellow, Hanscom Air Force Base ‘93-94; Research Initiation Award, National Science Foundation, 92.

His major Professional Activities include: Editor-in-Chief, Light: Science & Applications ’22-26; OSA Leadership Nominating Council, ’19-21, Executive Editor-in-Chief, Light: Science & Applications ’20-21; Editor-in-Chief of Optics Letters ’14-19, Director-at-Large, OSA ’14-16, Associate Editor of Frontier of Optoelectronics ’13-14, Topical Editor of JOSA B ‘05-11, Associate Editor-in-Chief for Chinese Optics Letters, Chinese Academy of Science Assessor, ‘00-10; Member, CLEO ‘03, CLEO ‘02,CLEO ‘99, ‘00 Program Subcommittee on Ultrafast Optics and Electronics; Chair of Physics Panel, ’99, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow Program; Board of Editorial Committee, ’99, Laser Society of Japan; Co-Chair, ’99, Conference on THz Spectroscopy and Application, SPIE; Chair, ’97, Ultrafast Optics & Electronics, LEOS Annual Meeting; Guest Editor, ’96, JSTQE on Ultrafast Electronics, Photonics and Optoelectronics; Chair, ’95-’98, Committee on Ultrafast Optics & Electronics, IEEE/LEOS; Member of the Board of Governors, ’95,  IEEE/LEOS; Member of Physics Panel, ’93-present, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow Program; Co-Chair, ’93, Conference on Ultrafast Laser and Technology, SPIE; Guest editor, ’93-present, WuLi (Chinese Physics Journal); Member, ’92-’95, Committee on Ultrafast Optics & Electronics, IEEE/LEOS

Seminars, Colloquium, Publications, Patents: 29 US patents issued; authored and co-authored 23 books and book chapters; >350 refereed papers; delivered >700 colloquium, seminars, invited conference presentations, and contributed conference talks. H-index of 96.