Origin of magnetic field enhancement in the generation of THz radiation from semiconductor surfaces

Summary form only given. A common method for the generation of THz radiation utilizes the transient currents produced in the depletion layer of a semiconductor surface by irradiation with an ultrafast laser pulse. Recently there have been several experimental demonstrations of the possibility of strongly increasing the efficiency of this emission process by the application of a static magnetic field. Since the first report of this effect, the Lorentz force has been evoked to explain the phenomenon. Still, to date, no simple model has been developed capable of predicting the large enhancements seen experimentally. We present a theoretical model of this phenomena.