Terahertz Three-Dimensional Imaging Based on Computed Tomography with Photonics-Based Noise Source**Supported by the Hundred Talents Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Basic Research Program of China under Grant No 2014CB339803, the Major National Development Project of Scientific Instrument and Equipment under Grant No 2011YQ150021, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61575214, 61574155, 61404149 and

Abstract

Computed tomography has been proven to be useful for non-destructive inspection of structures and materials. We build a three-dimensional imaging system with the photonically generated incoherent noise source and the Schottky barrier diode detector in the terahertz frequency band (90–140 GHz). Based on the computed tomography technique, the three-dimensional image of a ceramic sample is reconstructed successfully by stacking the slices at different heights. The imaging results not only indicate the ability of terahertz wave in the non-invasive sensing and non-destructive inspection applications, but also prove the effectiveness and superiority of the uni-traveling-carrier photodiode as a terahertz source in the imaging applications.