Looking for terahertz emission from laser-excited dielectrics: New light on the carrier dynamics

Previously, carrier transport was always neglected in the description of laser-excited dielectrics: The electrostatic forces should ensure that the electrons stay near their parent ion. But is this really true? Our recent theoretical calculation says ‘no’, and if we are right, the carrier diffusion will manifest itself through the emission of a distinct form of radiation in the terahertz region. The goal of this project is thus to (i) show that terahertz radiation is emitted from a laser-excited dielectric material and (ii) use the characteristics of this radiation to gain new insight into the carrier dynamics of highly excited materials.