In this paper, the technology aspects of the THz laser and spectrometric devices, developed over the last decade are described and their applications in various fields of science and technology are explained. The THz sources of importance are the optically pumped lasers, solid state devices and the backward wave oscillator (BWO) based systems. The BWO system offers the electronic tuning and multiplexing facility like Fourier transform technology. The time resolved and frequency domain aspects with relative merits are discussed. Non-linear optical methods of production of monochromatic radiation using second harmonic generation (SHG) are also considered. The important areas of space applications are described in detail. Present status and future directions are indicated.