Abstract

The generation of millimeter and sub-millimeter radiation with subpicosecond pulse durations using large-aperture biased photoconductors is being pursued experimentally by a number of groups.^1-3 Theoretical modeling of the radiated electromagnetic pulse from these devices has been developed for the near field;¹ however, to our knowledge a detailed analysis of the radiated electromagnetic pulse in the far field has not been performed. Far field calculations are important since most of the experimental data on sub-millimeter wave generation has been acquired in the far field. We develop here a simple model using the current surge picture² to describe the far field radiation from a biased large-aperture photoconducting emitter triggered by an ultrashort optical pulse.

© 1993 Optical Society of America