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Terahertz Imager

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Terahertz Imager

Terahertz　Imager

About a terahertz wave

Terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves located between infrared waves and radio waves. Terahertz waves are helping to drive the advancement of technological research for measurement and communications as they can be transmitted through paper, plastic and smoke. Specifically, terahertz imaging is attracting attention as a next-generation non−destructive testing technology that is considered to be safer than X−rays.

Characteristics of THz wave
          1.　Has both wave-like characteristics and particle−like characteristics.
          2.　Transparency to plastics, paper, cloth and oil.
          3.　Some of the material has its own specific spectrum (“fingerprint spectrum”)

High Sensitivity Real-Time Uncooled THz Imager

Outlook of IRV-T0831
(Equipped with lens and filter)

NEC developed a high sensitivity bolometer (*1) type uncooled two-dimensional terahertz array sensor (*2). Since then, the company has developed a high sensitivity real-time uncooled terahertz imager and continued activities for improving the sensitivity of the array sensor.

(*1) Bolometer
              The bolometer is a method that changes a material's electric resistance in response to the temperature.
(*2) Two-Dimensional Array Sensor
              A sensitive pixel that is arranged two-dimensionally; horizontally and vertically.
             Common examples include the Charge Coupled Devices (CCD) installed within digital cameras.

Application

- R&D of Terahertz Source
       - R&D of Terahertz application such as
              * Biomedical application, such as living substance measurement,
                drug development, etc.
              * Non-destructive inspection technique
              * Quality management, such as food inspection
              * Security application, such as detection of dangerous objects

Advantages

The IRV-T0831 is Easy handling THz Imager. 30Hz frame rate real-time imaging with QVGA(320x240) format RAW data output. Improvement of signal to noise rate with Lock-In imaging Function.

THz image examples

Quantum cascade laser beam profiling
Frequency : 3THz, Power : 6.6μW
*Above image is generated from acquired data using off-the-shelf software.

Clip in the flour (Visible image) Clip in the flour (THz image)

A half-cut tablets (Visible image) In an envelope (THz image)

Parsley (Visible image) Under parsley (THz image)

Mosquito (Visible image) Mosquito (THz image)

Advantages of Lock-in Imaging Function

                 - 1/f noise is dramatically reduced
                 - Still background scene is removed
                   → Integration of N frames increases signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by a factor of N^(1/2).