Novel detectors for traceable THz power measurements

摘要

Several novel types of detectors for the measurement of electromagnetic radiation in the THz spectral range are described. Firstly, detectors based on pyroelectric foil coated with different absorbers have been developed focusing on the following features: high accuracy due to well-characterized absorption, high sensitivity, large area absorbers and frequency and polarization independence. A three-dimensional design with five absorptions gave an overall absorption of more than 98 %. Secondly, detectors based on pyroelectric foils with thin metal layers were realized. An absorption of 50 % can be obtained if the thickness of the layers is carefully adjusted. According to electromagnetic theory this degree of absorption is independent of the polarization and frequency of the radiation in a wide range from at least 20 GHz to 5 THz. The third type of detector is based on a new type of volume absorber with a polished front surface and a gold-coated back side. It is the absorber of choice of the standard power detector for disseminating the spectral power responsivity scale. This standard detector allows the application of a physical model to calculate its spectral responsivity in the range from 1 THz to 5 THz if the detector has been calibrated at one single frequency. Finally, a THz detector calibration facility was set up and is now in operation at PTB to calibrate detectors from customers with an uncertainty as low as 1.7 %.