Highly precise determination of optical constants and sample thickness in terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Time-domain spectroscopy allows fast and broadband measurement of the optical constants of materials in the terahertz domain. We present a method that improves the determination of the optical constants through simultaneous determination of the sample thickness. This method could be applied to any material with moderate absorption and requires only two measurements of the temporal profile of the terahertz pulses: a reference one without the sample and one transmitted through the sample. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.