Generation of coherent terahertz radiation by polarized electron-hole pairs in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

The generation of coherent terahertz radiation upon the band-to-band femtosecond laser photoexcitation of GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well structures in a transverse electric field at room temperature is investigated. The properties of the observed terahertz radiation suggest that it is generated on account of the excitation of a time-dependent dipole moment as a result of the polarization of nonequilibrium electron-hole pairs in quantum wells by the electric field. The proposed theoretical model taking into account the dynamic screening of the electric field in the quantum wells by nonequilibrium charge carriers describes the properties of the observed terahertz signal.