Broadband detection capability of ZnTe electro-optic field detectors

We present our measurements of the broadband detection capability of copropagating electro-optic ZnTe field detectors for the characterization of free-space pulsed electromagnetic radiation. To demonstrate ultrawide detection bandwidth, radiation from both gigahertz and terahertz bandwidth pulsed microwave sources has been characterized. The high frequency limitation of the sensor is the first TO phonon resonance (5.31 THz). The ultrashort temporal resolution is demonstrated by the detection of a 177 fs (full width at half-maximum) pulse generated via THz optical rectification in 〈111〉 GaAs.