Interaction of surface plasmon-phonon polaritons with terahertz radiation in heavily doped GaAs epilayers.

We report on experimental studies of the surface plasmon-phonon polariton excitations in heavily doped GaAs epitaxial layers. Reflection and emission of radiation in the frequency range of 2-19 THz were investigated for samples with surface-relief grating, as well as for samples with planar surface. The reflectivity spectrum for p-polarized radiation measured for the sample with the surface-relief grating demonstrates a set of resonances attributed to excitations of different surface plasmon-phonon polariton modes. The observed resonances lie beyond the limits of the Reststrahlen band. Terahertz radiation emission from the samples was studied in nonequilibrium conditions under the pulsed electric field excitation. Two contributions to the spectral density of the terahertz radiation have been revealed, the first being due to bulk plasmon-phonon polaritons (PPhPs), while the second originating from the surface PPhPs. A field dependence of the effective temperature of the bulk PPhPs has been established. Polarization dependence of the terahertz radiation related to surface PPhPs has been experimentally examined for the first time.