Sensitive Near-Field Slit Probe with High Spatial Resolution for Passive Millimeter-Wave Microscopy

Abstract

A novel type of near-field slit probe with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution is proposed. We tested the implementation of this in passive millimeter-wave microscopy at frequencies around 50 GHz. The slit probe comprises a standard rectangular waveguide incorporating a triple-screw tuner penetrating into the waveguide, followed by a four-section quarter-wave transformer, and a metal-coated silicon chip with a micro-slit aperture fabricated at the probe tip using a bulk micromachining technique. The probe allows the transmission of the thermal radiation collected at the probe aperture to the radiometric receiver used in passive millimeter-wave microscopy to be maximized, resulting in highly sensitive measurements. The system noise temperature of the radiometric receiver including the slit probe used in the passive measurements was found to be 1800 K, meaning that a temperature resolution of 0.18 K with the integration time set to 1 s was achieved. This system noise temperature is four times better than that when a tapered slit probe with no tuning circuit was used. Image acquisition with a spatial resolution of better than 100 μm was demonstrated over the temperature range from 210 to 310 K.