"Electro-Optic Detection Methods for Terahertz Spetroscopy"
Carol Finn, Advisor: Dr. M. Elizabeth Parks
Electro-Optic detection is a useful tool for increasing the frequency terahertz spectroscopy.
Using a photoconductive antenna as the gererator of the terahertz pulse, we can produce
broadband electromagnetic pulses containing frequencies ranging from tens of gigahertz to
several terahertz. However, the high frequencies (> 1 THz) are undetectable using
photoconductive antenna detectors because the response time of the detector is convolved with
the pulse shape. Using electro-optic detectors it is possible to extract the true terahertz waveform,
because the electro-optic crystal responds nearly instantaneously to the applied terahertz field.