Discussions on the main parameters of THz photoconductive antennas as emitters

The main parameters of terahertz (THz) photoconductive (PC) antennas, when employed as emitters in THz pulsed systems, have been reviewed and discussed with the emphasis on the THz output power and optical-THz conversion efficiency. The discussion is supported by the results from many published papers and the conclusion is drawn on a simplified block diagram which shows the role of each parameter in resulting higher THz output power and higher optical-THz efficiency. The information presented in this paper should be very useful for design and analysis of the performance of emitter PC antennas.