System and method for terahertz 2D interferometric and synthetic aperture imaging with an incoherent source
AssigneeNew Jersey Institute of Technology
InventorsJohn Francis Federici, Dale Gary
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Abstract
An interferometric and synthetic aperture THz incoherent imaging system is provided, in which a high-power electronic source such as a 0.094 THz Gunn Oscillator is integrated with a continuous-wave (CW) terahertz detection system in order to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio. THz imaging of a point source located 10 m away from the detector array is presented. A 2-D THz reflective image is reconstructed with only four detectors using rotational synthesis.
Claims21
A Terahertz (THz) interferometric synthetic aperture imaging system comprising a continuous wave (CW) photomixing detection apparatus, the CW photomixing apparatus comprising at least one collimator coupled to a THz detector array, and a first THz radiation source for emitting radiation to be received at the at least one collimator;
- and
- a second THz radiation source independent of the first THz radiation source, positioned and operable to emit THz radiation toward a sample such that at least some radiation reflected from the sample is received by at least one detector in the THz detector array, wherein the first and second THz radiation sources are phase incoherent, and wherein the system is operable to detect a THz electric field at multiple locations and use correlated phase and amplitude of the electric field from pairs of detectors to reconstruct an image of the sample.
An interferometric synthetic aperture imaging method comprising
- illuminating a target with THz radiation from a first THz radiation source,
- providing a second THz radiation source independent of the first THz radiation source and which is phase incoherent with the first THz radiation source,
- using the second THz radiation source to provide energy to a continuous wave (CW) photomixing detection apparatus, the CW photomixing apparatus comprising an array of individual THz detectors,
- detecting a THz electric field using at least one of the detectors in the array of individual THz detectors,
- obtaining phase and amplitude of the electric field from at least one of the individual THz detectors,
- correlating phase and amplitude of the electric field, and
- reconstructing an image of the target using Fourier inversion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.