State-of-Art of Terahertz Science and Technology -- Broadband Terahertz Spectroscopy and its Application to the Characterization of Thin Films -- Single Photon Counting and Passive Microscopy of Terahertz Radiation -- Coherent Phonons in Carbon Nanotubes -- Time-resolved X-ray Diffraction Studies of Coherent Lattice Dynamics Using Synchrotron Radiation -- Imaging GHz-THz Acoustic Wave Propagation in Thin Films and Microstructures -- Material Evaluation with Various Optical Measurement Systems: Focusing on Terahertz Spectroscopy -- Ultrafast Excitation and Dynamics Measurements with Intense Ultrashort Laser Pulses: High-Order Harmonic Generation from Aligning Molecules and Surface Nanostructuring -- Real Space Mapping of Exciton Interaction Strength in GaN Films by using Four-Wave-Mixing Technique -- Terahertz Light Source Based on Synchrotron Radiation -- Terahertz Synchrotron Radiation; Optics and Application -- Far-infrared Spectroscopy on Solids under Ultra High Pressures -- Real-time Analysis of Initial Oxidation Process on Si(001) by Means of Surface Differential Reflectance Spectroscopy and Reflectance Difference Spectroscopy.

This collection of reviews by leading Japanese researchers covers topics like ultrafast optical responses, terahertz and phonon studies, super-sensitive surface and high-pressure spectroscopy, combination of visible and x-ray photonics. Several related areas at the cutting edge of measurement technology and materials science are included. This book is partly based on well-cited review articles in the Japanese language in special volumes of the Journal of the Vacuum Society of Japan.