Modelling laser-based table-top THz sources: Optical rectification, propagation and electro-optic sampling

A model describing the generation of THz pulses by optical rectification and the detection of THz pulses by electro-optic sampling is presented. The model is comprehensive and mostly analytical: physical phenomena such as dispersion, group velocity mismatch, multiple reflections and diffraction are represented by one dimensional transfer functions. The model is compared with experimental results and shows good agreement with experiments. It is shown that including diffraction is crucial for retrieving the details of the THz spectrum.