Simulation of Hot-Carrier Dynamics and Terahertz Emission in Laser-Excited Metallic Bilayers

Abstract

The emission of terahertz radiation from optically excited ferromagnet/metal structures points to innovative spintronic THz sources. To optimize such technology, more thorough models and simulations are needed. The authors combine efficient solutions for light- and THz-wave propagation with the Boltzmann transport equation, for the dynamics of the optically excited electrons, to gain insight into broadband THz emission from Fe/Pt structures. The model provides a numerically efficient connection between intrinsic material properties and experimental parameters on the one hand, and the efficiency of the emitter structure and details of the emitted spectrum on the other.