Gouy shift correction for highly accurate refractive index retrieval in time-domain terahertz spectroscopy

Terahertz spectroscopic measurements are usually performed in focused beam geometry while the standard routine for the retrieval of the sample refractive index assumes plane-wave approximation. In this paper we propose a model for the transmission function which accounts for spatially limited Gaussian terahertz beams. We demonstrate experimentally its validity and applicability for an accurate extraction of the refractive index from experimental data. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America