Observation of gigawatt-class THz pulses from a compact laser-driven particle accelerator.

We report the observation of subpicosecond terahertz (T-ray) pulses with energies ≥460 μJ from a laser-driven ion accelerator, thus rendering the peak power of the source higher even than that of state-of-the-art synchrotrons. Experiments were performed with intense laser pulses (up to 5×10(19) W/cm(2)) to irradiate thin metal foil targets. Ion spectra measured simultaneously showed a square law dependence of the T-ray yield on particle number. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show the presence of transient currents at the target rear surface which could be responsible for the strong T-ray emission.