Numerical analysis of terahertz generation characteristics of photoconductive antenna

A numerical model of terahertz (THz) photoconductive antenna (PCA) is developed and studied. This model includes the multi-physical phenomena of the PCA involving the light-matter interaction, photo-excited carrier dynamics and EM propagation of the generated THz radiation. Both in-house finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) method and commercial tools such as COMSOL are used in this study. Various PCA-related parameters, such as the pump laser power, DC bias voltage, laser pulse width, and beam spot location, as well as material related parameters (e.g., carrier lifetime, mobility and doping density) can be investigated using this model.