Compact TD-THz systems offer flexible, turnkey imaging solutions

摘要

Fueled by advances in ultrafast-laser technology, advances in terahertz generation and detection have yielded robust, compact systems for a broad range of applications. Applications from home-land security to pharmaceutical quality control are uniquely enabled by time-domain terahertz (TD-THz) methods that use subpicosecond near-single-cycle electromagnetic impulses. These hyperwide-band impulses, spanning frequencies from less than 40 GHz to more than 3 THz, provide unique capabilities to exploit this region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Time-domain terahertz instrumentation combines the capabilities of ultra-high-resolution radar, noncontact ultrasound, and far-infrared spectroscopy. The technique can be used for a wide range of sensing, compositional analysis, and subsurface imaging applications.