Arbitrary shaping of terahertz pulses using light-induced photonic structures

Terahertz light-matter interactions within a semiconductor-filled waveguide can be tuned in space and time via photoexcited regions created on ultrafast time scales and sub-THz wavelength length scales by a patterned optical pulse. These light-induced metal-dielectric structures can be used to dynamically modify the photonic band structure of THz light within the waveguide, controlling the amplitude, phase, propagation direction and envelope of the guided THz wave. In this talk we demonstrate the power of this technique in arbitrarily shaping THz fields using this all-optical control platform.