Systematic investigation of terahertz wave generation from liquid water lines

Understanding the process of terahertz (THz) wave generation from liquid water is crucial for further developing liquid THz sources. We present a systematic investigation of THz wave generated from laser-irradiated water lines. We show that water line in the diameter range of 0.1-0.2 mm generates the strongest THz wave, and THz frequency red shift is observed when diameter of the water line increases. The pump pulse energy dependence is decoupled from self-focusing effect by compensating the focal point displacement. As the pump pulse energy increases, saturation effect in THz peak electric field is observed, which can be mainly attributed to the intensity clamping effect inside the plasma and have never been reported previously, using water line or water film as the THz source. The proposed mechanism for saturation is supported by an independent measurement of laser pulse spectrum broadening. This work may help to further understand the laser-liquid interaction in THz generation process.