Abstract
We review recent work on the use of optoelectronic techniques for generating and detecting electromagnetic pulses with durations in the range of a few hundred femtoseconds and their application to the measurement of materials. The use of optical rectification of femtosecond pulses in electrooptic materials for generating ultrashort electrical pulses will be described with applications to the study of the dynamic properties of electrons in semiconductors. This approach, known as the electrooptic Cherenkov effect,1 is capable of generating electrical pulses having durations as short as 250 fs and amplitudes as large as 7 kV/cm. The frequency spectrum of these pulses extends from dc to 5 THz, making them valuable sources of submillimeter and far-IR radiation. Numerous applications have been demonstrated including the measurement of the passive dielectric constant and loss of materials, the time-resolved dynamics of optically injected carriers in semiconductors, and the dispersive properties of phonon polaritons.
© 1989 Optical Society of America
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