Terahertz Pulse Time-domain Holography Research Articles

Design of broadband terahertz vector and vortex beams: II. Holographic assessment

In this paper, we demonstrate the capabilities of the terahertz pulse time-domain holography in visualisation, simulation, and assessment of broadband THz vortex beam formation dynamics upon its shaping by elements of beam converter, and further propagation and manipulation. By adding Jones matrix formalism to describe broadband optical elements, we highlight the differences in the spatio-spectral and spatio-temporal structure of the formed vortex and vector beams dependence on the modulator used and visualise their modal features. The influence of diffraction field structure from each element in the broadband vortex modulator is revealed in numerical simulation and the formed beams are analysed against the simplified Laguerre-Gaussian beam model.

Fast Terahertz Spectroscopic Holographic Assessment of Optical Properties of Diabetic Blood Plasma

A new method for diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is proposed, which uses for measurement a lyophilized blood plasma sample prepared in the form of a pellet. The paper develops a methodology for fast spectroscopic measurements of such pellets with terahertz pulse time-domain holography. For that reason, blood plasma pellets were experimentally measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system in transmission mode and its characteristics were obtained to be then used in numerical simulation of pulse terahertz hologram formation and extraction of its optical properties. Thus, a demonstration of the proof-of-concept was given for the techniques of pellet inspection, which contains information about the presence of glycated proteins, reflecting a diabetic pathology.

Resolution and contrast in terahertz pulse time-domain holographic reconstruction.

Here, we present a comprehensive study of the reconstruction quality in terahertz (THz) pulse time-domain holography. We look into single wavelength reconstructions, as well as broadband recovery enabled by the ultrabroadband nature of radiation and coherent detection enabled by electro-optic or photoconductive sensing. We demonstrate the transverse resolution dependence for amplitude and phase objects on the solid angle of the inline recorded time-domain THz hologram, and then turn to the contrast of reconstructed binary amplitude objects, and further to longitudinal resolution of phase objects. We show that transverse resolution can reach values comparable to the wavelength of the radiation used, and longitudinally, phase objects can be resolved with even greater precision. We compare the obtained resolution with theoretical estimates and show that THz pulse time-domain holography is a powerful non-contact imaging tool.

Terahertz pulse time-domain holography with balance detection: complex-domain sparse imaging.

We investigated the peculiarities of the terahertz pulse time-domain holography principle in the case of raster scanning with the balance detection system. The noise in this system represents a Skellam distribution model, which differentiates it from systems based on a photoconductive antenna. We analyzed this Skellam model and provided both numerical and experimental investigations. We found that the variance of the noise in the balance detection system does not depend on the true signal. Complex-domain images obtained in this model are filtered by block-matching algorithms adapted for spatio-temporal and spatiospectral volumetric data. We presented a new cube complex-domain filter algorithm that uses block matching in all 3D data sets simultaneously in spatial and frequency coordinates. A combination of temporal and complex-domain filters allows us to expand the dynamic range of terahertz frequencies for which we can obtain amplitude/phase information. Experimental data demonstrate an improvement in the quality of the resultant images both in the time domain and complex-spectral domain. The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement.

Hyperspectral data denoising for terahertz pulse time-domain holography.

We investigated data denoising in hyperspectral terahertz pulse time-domain holography. Using the block-matching algorithms adapted for spatio-temporal and spatio-spectral volumetric data we studied and optimized parameters of these algorithms to improve phase image reconstruction quality. We propose a sequential application of the two algorithms oriented on work in temporal and spectral domains. Experimental data demonstrate the improvement in the quality of the resultant time-domain images as well as phase images and object's relief. The simulation results are proved by comparison with the experimental ones.

Increasing the resolution of the reconstructed image in terahertz pulse time-domain holography

In this paper, we present a novel numerical approach for increasing the resolution of retrieved images of objects after their diffraction patterns are recorded via terahertz pulse time-domain holography (THz PTDH). THz PTDH allows for spectrally resolved imaging with high spatial resolution and does not require the fine alignment of complex optics in the THz path. The proposed data post-processing method opens up the possibility to reconstruct holograms recorded with spatially restricted THz detectors, and overcome the diffraction limit even for the lower-frequency spectral components. The method involves an iterative procedure of backward-forward wavefront propagation to simulate the field distribution beyond the initially recorded hologram area. We show significant improvement in both the object reconstruction and contrast across the whole spectrum, with qualitative resolution enhancement at lower frequency spectral components.

Spatio-temporal and spatiospectral metrology of terahertz broadband uniformly topologically charged vortex beams.

A comprehensive characterization of the diffraction properties of terahertz (THz) pulsed broadband vortex beams consisting of several electromagnetic field oscillations requires state-of-the-art techniques for studying the evolution of a wavefront as it propagates. For this purpose, we have applied the capabilities offered by THz pulse time domain holography. Accurate metrological study of pulsed single-period THz field propagation allowed us to reveal the spatio-temporal and spatiospectral couplings in broadband uniformly topologically charged vortex beams. Here, we reveal dynamics of such beam propagation in a free space as well as in the experiment with edge diffraction with 50% blocking of the beam focal waist. In this study, we compare the dynamics of freely propagating and edge-diffracted THz vortex. Despite the fact that in the amplitude representation one can observe the emergence of strong asymmetry, analysis of the spectral trajectory of the singular point at some distance from the obstacle and the visualization of phase distribution for individual spectral components testify to the conservation of transverse energy circulation. Similar to the edge diffraction of monochromatic optical vortices, it can be interpreted as self-reconstruction of vortex properties. The given term has not previously been used for the case of pulsed broadband THz beams, to the best of our knowledge.

On terahertz pulsed broadband Gauss-Bessel beam free-space propagation

Terahertz pulse time-domain holography is the ultimate technique allowing the evaluating a propagation of pulse broadband terahertz wavefronts and analyze their spatial, temporal and spectral evolution. We have numerically analyzed pulsed broadband terahertz Gauss-Bessel beam’s both spatio-temporal and spatio-spectral evolution in the non-paraxial approach. We have characterized two-dimensional spatio-temporal beam behavior and demonstrated all stages of pulse reshaping during the propagation, including X-shape pulse forming. The reshaping is also illustrated by the energy transfer dynamics, where the pulse energy flows from leading edge to trailing edge. This behavior illustrates strong spatio-temporal coupling effect when spatio-temporal distribution of Bessel beam’s wavefront depends on propagation distance. The spatio-temporal and spatio-spectral profiles for different spectral components clearly illustrate the model where the Bessel beam’s wavefront at the exit from the axicon can be divided into radial segments for which the wave vectors intersect. Phase velocity via propagation distance is estimated and compared with existing experimantal results. Results of the phase velocity calculation depend strongly on distance increment value, thus demonstrating superluminal or subluminal behavior.

Application of Terahertz Pulse Time-Domain Holography for Phase Imaging

Terahertz pulse time-domain holography (THz PTDH) is the powerful technique for high-resolution amplitude and phase THz imaging that allows mapping spectroscopic information across the imaged object. In this paper, we consider most sought after applications of phase imaging provided by this technique and experimentally demonstrate the ability of the method to reconstruct smooth and stepped relief features of an object that is transparent in THz region. Unlike the amplitude distribution, which does not contain any significant information in this case, phase distribution not only reveals the object qualitatively, but also allows the reconstruction of the object thicknesses pattern, even in low signal-to-noise registration conditions. Main limitations of the proposed method, such as transverse resolution and low signal-to-noise environment are carefully studied and mitigated.

Influence of raster scan parameters on the image quality for the THz phase imaging in collimated beam with a wide aperture

We numerically investigated the influence of wavelength of terahertz radiation and size of scanning pinhole on the quality of reconstructed image by terahertz pulse time domain holography method. The improvement of the quality is achieved mainly by reducing the wavelength of the radiation, pinhole size and pinhole step (value of the pinhole displacement at each step) affect the spatial resolution of the reconstructed object and significantly affect the scanning time. However, pinhole does not significantly affect the quality only if pinhole size is not less than used wavelength.