Time-Domain Detection of the Electric Field and its Conjugate Variable in Ultrabroadband Electro-Optic Sampling

We demonstrate unambiguous detection of the conjugate variable to the electric field in a time-domain experiment. The polarization change induced by nonlinear mixing of probe and multi-THz fields via the Pockels effect is examined concerning changes in ellipticity and tilting of the polarization ellipsoid. Spectrally resolved measurements yield crucial insights into how sum and difference frequency generation processes shape the electro-optic signal for different detection crystals. This approach enables precise, even simultaneous, measurement of the electric field and its conjugate variable by combinations of different phase biases (λ/4 and λ/2) and spectral filtering.