Laser-induced THz generation and thermal effects in metals

Laser induced terahertz (THz) waves generation from metals is a result of thermal nonlinear effects in the electron gas near the surface. We describe the mechanism of THz response and discuss the possibility of electron scattering investigation with a help of nondestructive optical-to-THz conversion on the surface. It is also shown that array of anisotropic metallic particles irradiated by fs laser pulse generates THz pulse due to inhomogeneous temperature relaxation.