Study of terahertz radiation from InAs and InSb

Terahertz radiation from InSb and InAS, which are typical narrow band-gap semiconductors, was investigated using time-resolved THz emission measurements. When we compared between the polarity of the THz waveforms of these narrow band-gap semiconductors with that of InP, which is a wide bandgap semiconductor, we concluded that the ultrafast buildup of the photo-Dember field is the main mechanism for the emission of THz radiation in both InAs and InSb. The emission efficiency of InSb is approximately one-hundredth of that of InAs, although the electron mobility in InSb is higher than in InAs. Wavelength-dependent measurements implied that the anomalously low THz emission efficiency of InSb might be due to a reduction in transient mobility resulting from the scattering of electrons into the low-mobility L valley. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.