We examine a theory of the transient electrodynamics of thin-film superconductors irradiated by both cw- and pulsed-laser light. The theory employs the Rothwarf-Taylor rate equations in conjunction with a time-dependent version of Parker’s $T^{\mathrm{*}}$ model of nonequilibrium superconductivity, to determine the microwave and far-infrared electrodynamics. This formulation is sufficiently general that it can also be utilized for problems in which either static or dynamic gratings are written on the superconductor by two laser beams. We apply the theory to studies of time-dependent microwave transmission through thin superconducting films and microwave propagation on superconducting waveguides. A perturbative formulation of the electrodynamics, to first order in the quasiparticle response, is also presented.

• Received 19 December 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.39.11327