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Broadband Terahertz Computed Tomography Using a 5k-pixel Real-time THz Camera

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Abstract

We present a novel THz computed tomography system that enables fast 3-dimensional imaging and spectroscopy in the 0.6-1.2 THz band. The system is based on a new real-time broadband THz camera that enables rapid acquisition of multiple cross-sectional images required in computed tomography. Tomographic reconstruction is achieved using digital images from the densely-packed large-format (80×64) focal plane array sensor located behind a hyper-hemispherical silicon lens. Each pixel of the sensor array consists of an 85 μm × 92 μm lithographically fabricated wideband dual-slot antenna, monolithically integrated with an ultra-fast diode tuned to operate in the 0.6-1.2 THz regime. Concurrently, optimum impedance matching was implemented for maximum pixel sensitivity, enabling 5 frames-per-second image acquisition speed. As such, the THz computed tomography system generates diffraction-limited resolution cross-section images as well as the three-dimensional models of various opaque and partially transparent objects. As an example, an over-the-counter vitamin supplement pill is imaged and its material composition is reconstructed. The new THz camera enables, for the first time, a practical application of THz computed tomography for non-destructive evaluation and biomedical imaging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ElectroScience Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, 1330 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH, USA, 43212

    Georgios C. Trichopoulos & Kubilay Sertel

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  1. Georgios C. Trichopoulos
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  2. Kubilay Sertel
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Correspondence to Georgios C. Trichopoulos.

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Trichopoulos, G.C., Sertel, K. Broadband Terahertz Computed Tomography Using a 5k-pixel Real-time THz Camera. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 36, 675–686 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-015-0144-x

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