太赫兹技术在物理、化学等基础研究学科, 以及安全检查、空间通信等应用学科都具有重要的研究价值和应用前景, 而太赫兹辐射源正是太赫兹技术发展的关键部分。概述了基于激光光学技术、真空电子技术和超快激光技术产生太赫兹辐射的常用方法和主要特点, 以及目前的研究状况, 并对这各种太赫兹波辐射源的发展方向进行了展望。

The terahertz technique has attracted much attention from a variety of applications in fundamental and applied research field, such as physics, chemistry, safety inspection, modern communication and so on. The Terahertz radiation source is a crucial part of Terahertz system. Some typical techniques of the generation of terahertz radiation based on the ultrafast laser technology, the vacuum electronics and the laser-optic technology are briefly introduced and reviewed. The future of these terahertz radiation source is also forecasted.