Proposal for real-time terahertz imaging system with palm-size terahertz camera and compact quantum cascade laser

• Main Authors: Oda, Naoki (Author), Lee, Alan (Author), Ishi, Tsutomu (Author), Hosako, Iwao (Author), Hu, Qing (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SPIE, 2014-05-22T18:00:08Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

This paper describes a real-time terahertz (THz) imaging system, using the combination of a palm-size THz camera with a compact quantum cascade laser (QCL). The THz camera contains a 320x240 microbolometer focal plane array which has nearly flat spectral response over a frequency range of ca. 1.5 to 100 THz, and operates at 30 Hz frame rate. The QCL is installed in compact cryogen-free cooler. A variety of QCLs are prepared which can cover frequency range from ca. 1.5 to 5 THz. THz images of biochemical samples will be presented, using the combined imaging system. Performance of the imaging system, such as signal-to-noise ratio of transmission-type THz microscope, is predicted.
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (Japan)