A CW photoconductive integrated photomixer/antenna THz source

A new CW photoconductive integrated photomixer/antenna THz source is presented. A THz signal is generated in the DC-biased photoconductive strip by employing optical heterodyne photomixing, and at the same time the size of the photoconductive strip on the grounded dielectric substrate is designed to have an efficient broadside radiation. Analytical expressions for the photo-induced current as well as the radiation power are calculated in detail, which make it possible to evaluate the performance of the structure made by different photoconductive materials. The typical μW output power can be obtained by mW laser pump power for frequencies up to 1 THz.