Quasi-half-cycle terahertz pulse generation via optical rectification in quantum wells using shaped optical pulses

It is shown that optical rectification in biased quantum wells using specially shaped optical pulses can be used to generate quasi-half-cycle THz electromagnetic pulses. Namely, we investigate THz generation by pulses incorporating a rapid pi phase shift. We further explore the potential of this scheme for high-repetition-rate quasi-half-cycle THz pulse generation.