THz radiation is detected by a low-temperature-grown GaAs ͑LT-GaAs͒ photoconductive antenna probed with a 1.55 m probe laser. The detection efficiency is found to be approximately 10% of that obtained with a 780 nm probe. From the nonquadratic dependence of photoconductivity on laser intensity, two-step photoabsorption mediated by midgap states in LT-GaAs is suggested, instead of the two-photon absorption, as the primary process for the photoconductivity.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy was used to measure the refractive indices of Ih crystalline ice in the frequency range of 0.25–1.0 THz. With increasing frequency, the real part, n′, of the refractive index increases from 1.787 to 1.793 at 243 K, and the imaginary part, n″, increases from 0.005 to 0.020. The temperature dependence of n′ is less than 0.01%/K and that of n″ is ∼1%/K. Our results connect smoothly to the data of Matsuoka and co-workers [T. Matsuoka, S. Fujita, and S. Mae, J. Appl. Phys. 80, 5884 (1996)] in the microwave range and the data in the far IR range, and can be well described by the existing theoretical models.

Terahertz differential time-domain spectroscopy (DTDS) is a new technique that uses pulsed terahertz radiation to characterize the optical properties of thin dielectric films. Characterizing thin films in the GHz to THz range is critical for the development of new technologies in integrated circuitry, photonic systems and micro-electro-mechanical systems. There are potential applications for gene and protein chips. This paper shows how DTDS can be combined with double modulation in the pump-probe system to improve sensitivity by an order of magnitude. An iterative algorithm is presented to estimate the optical properties of a given thin film. The technique is experimentally verified using 1-mm-thick samples of silicon dioxide on silicon. q

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