Scanning Laser Terahertz Research Articles

Scanning laser terahertz near-field reflection imaging system

We developed a scanning laser terahertz (THz) near-field reflection imaging system using a fiber-coupled femtosecond laser source for high spatial resolution measurements without any sub-wavelength probes. In this system, THz wave pulses generated at the laser focusing spot in a non-linear optical crystal interact with a sample set on the crystal. Using this system, we obtained the THz reflection images of metallic structures with a resolution of ∼λTHz/34 (λTHz = 680 μm) and also observed paraffin-embedded human breast tissue of several 10 μm in size. These results promise that this system can be suitable for industrial applications which require micron-scale resolution.

Evaluation of human hairs with terahertz wave

Single human hairs using a scanning laser terahertz (THz) imaging system are evaluated. The system features near-field THz emission and far-field THz detection. A sample is set in the vicinity of a two-dimensional THz emitter, and an excitation laser beam is scanned over the emitter via a galvanometer. By detecting the transmitted THz wave pulses that are locally generated at the irradiation spots of the excitation laser, we can obtain the THz transmission image and the spectrum of the sample with imaging time of 47 s for 512×512 pixels and maximum resolution of ∼27 μm . Using the system, we succeeded in observing the specific features of single human hairs in both the THz transmittance spectra and transmission images; it was found that the THz transmittance spectrum of gray hair shows a tendency of increase while that of black hair shows a decrease with increasing frequency above 1.2 THz. We could also observe the change of the moisture retention in the hair, and it is found that cuticles play one of the important roles in keeping moisture inside the hair. Those obtained data indicate that our system can be useful for evaluating single human hairs and those kinds of microscale samples.

Scanning laser terahertz near-field imaging system

We have proposed and developed a scanning laser terahertz (THz) near-field imaging system using a 1.56 μm femtosecond fiber laser for high spatial resolution and high-speed measurement. To obtain the two-dimensional (2D) THz images of samples, the laser pulses are scanned over a 2D THz emitter plate [DASC: 4'-dimenthylamino-N-methyl-4- stilbazolium p-chlorobenzenesulfonate] by a galvano meter. In this system, THz wave pulses locally generated at the laser irradiation spots transmit through the sample set on the emitter, and the amplitude of the transmitted THz wave pulse is detected by using a typical THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) technique. Using this system, we have succeeded in obtaining THz transmission images of a triangle shaped metal sheet of millimeter-size and a human hair sample with a spatial resolution of sub-wavelength order up to ~27 μm (~λTHz/28) at an imaging speed of about 47 seconds/image for 512 x 512 pixels.