THz Generation via Optical Rectification in Nanomaterials: Universal Modeling Approach and Effective χ(2) Description

Optical rectification (OR) at the nanoscale has attracted an increasing interest in the prospect of providing efficient ultracompact terahertz (THz) sources. Here, a universal modeling approach capable of addressing both isotropic and anisotropic all-dielectric nonlinear nanomaterials on an ultra-broad spectral range, covering the highly dispersive phonon-polariton window, and different orientations of the crystallographic axes with respect to the geometry of the structure is reported. This analysis is exemplified by considering two study cases, that is, nanopillars of AlGaAs and of LiNbO3. A close comparison between the two cases is established in terms of THz generation efficiency from 4 to 14 THz. Phonon-polariton contributions to the OR process are disentangled from the electronic one, and a model order reduction based on the reciprocity theorem is applied and validated on both the considered configurations. These results, combined with the inspection of the THz near-field features, pave the way to the design and optimization of nonlinear metasurfaces for THz generation and detection at the nanoscale.