PHOTOCONDUCTIVE SAMPLING OF SUBPICOSECOND PULSES USING MUTUAL INDUCTIVE COUPLING IN COPLANAR TRANSMISSION-LINES

We demonstrate the generation and detection of subpicosecand pulses by photoconductive sampling in a three-line coplanar transmission line s tructure. Due to a mutual inductive coupling between adjacent striplin es a differential sampling is obtained. Voltage pulses as short as 390 fs have been measured in a lung-lifetime photoconductive with. We emp hasize that differential coupling can be used for the detection as wel l as the generation of subpicosecond pulses in long-lifetime photocond uctors. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.