Measurement of birefringence inside an air plasma by THz-ABCD

摘要

We have quantified the ultrafast birefringence induced in air plasma by measuring the THz-field-induced second harmonic (TFISH) along two orthogonal directions with THz air-biased-coherent-detection technique. The time domain TFISH waveforms and polarization state were measured under different polarizations of fundamental wave. The measured polarization state of the TFISH agree well with predictions made with cross-phase modulation theory.