TeraFERMI: Status of the beamline and pilot experiments

TeraFERMI is the THz beamline of the Free Electron Laser FERMI, now in commissioning. The emitted THz pulses, from a Coherent Transition Radiation source, are ultrashort (sub-ps), high power (MV/cm) and broadband (from 0.3 up to above 10 THz). Here we report on the present status of TeraFERMI, the first experimental characterization of the THz radiation and the first pilot experiments. Since THz light couples with vibrational, electronic and magnetic excitations of matter, TeraFERMI will be used to achieve light control on material's properties, and perform nonlinear THz studies.