| Summary: | We demonstrate experimentally that a recently proposed structure comprising a tens of microns thick layer of LiNbO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>3</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> sandwiched between two totally reflecting Si prisms can serve as an efficient Cherenkov-type optical-to-terahertz converter of femtosecond laser pulses from an optical oscillator. Using Ti:sapphire laser pulses of 3.75 nJ energy as a pump, we achieved a conversion efficiency of 2.3 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>×</mo><mspace width="0.166667em"></mspace><msup><mn>10</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, which exceeds the efficiency of the conventional collinear scheme with a ZnTe crystal by an order of magnitude. The converter can be used as a reliable radiation source for performing terahertz time-domain spectroscopy.
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