Terahertz quasi time domain spectroscopy

It is shown theoretically and experimentally that for the specific case of an equidistant frequency spacing of semiconductor laser modes, signals similar to terahertz (THz) time domain spectroscopy (TDS) can be detected in a standard photomixer setup. This quasi TDS system approach enables for both, time and frequency domain data processing. Measurements with a THz system which is based on a low cost multimode laser diode are presented. The system exhibits a bandwidth of 600 GHz and can be applied to the classical THz TDS application scenarios. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America