Single-shot terahertz detection using a GHz bandwidth oscilloscope

Single-shot detection of a terahertz (THz) electric-field transient has been demonstrated using a high-bandwidth oscilloscope. The THz modulation was imprinted on a chirped picosecond probe pulse via an electro-optic crystal, and the probe pulse was subsequently temporally expanded to nanosecond time scales using the group velocity dispersion of a long optical fiber. The resulting GHz modulation on the nanosecond pulse is readily recorded by a fast oscilloscope.