THz Emitters (Profs B J Hickey and J Cunningham)

THz emitters are extremely useful and to secure their future as devices, there needs to be a means of cheaply producing THz radiation.  Thus far, solid state emitters are often based on semiconductors whereas metals offer significant advantages: their absorption is nearly independent of wavelength, broadband photocurrents, a featureless THz refractive index and a large thermal conductivity.  But more significantly, all solid state devices utilse only the charge on electrons and not the spin.  It has just been discovered that using the spin can lead to considerable advantages such as a wide bandwidth and ultrafast photocurrents.  In this PhD project we will explore the potential for making rapid progress towards a superlative performance in a THz emitter.