MKS Instruments unveils the Newport Terahertz Time-Domain Spectrometer (THz-TDS). Designed for the scientific research market, the device is the first commercially available turn-key terahertz time-domain spectrometer designed to work with amplified, femtosecond laser sources. It can be used to study carrier dynamics in semiconductors on a very short time scale.
The spectrometer generates terahertz radiation using two-color laser induced plasma, which then passes through the sample of interest, before being electro-optically detected by a timed gate pulse in a zinc telluride crystal, with a quarter-wave plate and Wollaston prism for dividing the S- an P- components prior to the balanced detector. The THz-TDS is typically pumped with an external Optical Parametric Amplifier (OPA) to excite the samples in the ultraviolet to mid-infrared radiation range, allowing for THz spectroscopy of the excited state of the sample.
The optical pump-THz probe delay range is 4.3 ns standard. The Newport THz-TDS detection range is 0.25-3.0 THz capable of THz resolution of 1.25 GHz, with upgrade options to increase the range and resolution. For more info, peruse the datasheet.