Spatial pattern separation of chemicals and frequency-independent components by terahertz spectroscopic imaging

We separated the component spatial patterns of frequency-dependent absorption in chemicals and frequency-independent components such as plastic, paper, and measurement noise in terahertz (THz) spectroscopic images, using known spectral curves. Our measurement system, which uses a widely tunable coherent THz-wave parametric oscillator source, can image at a specific frequency in the range 1-2 THz. The component patterns of chemicals can easily be extracted by use of the frequency-independent components. This method could be successfully used for nondestructive inspection for the detection of illegal drugs and devices of bioterrorism concealed, e.g., inside mail and packages.     

Simplified setup for electro-optic sampling of terahertz pulses

We present a simplified setup for the generation and electro-optic sampling of terahertz pulses employing a nonamplified pump source and a single ZnTe crystal, which is simultaneously used for generation and detection. The setup is characterized, and first steps of its application for gas-phase spectroscopy are presented.     

Influence of terahertz pulse width on two-dimensional terahertz spectroscopy

The influence of the width of terahertz (THz) pulses on two-dimensional THz spectroscopy (2DTS) has been studied theoretically via a classical method in which the expressions for the second-order nonlinear polarizations with different nonlinear sources are derived by using a perturbation approach. Compared to the common disposal method in which the THz pulse is treated as a delta function, some terms that were of unknown physical meaning or vanished will come into force when the width is considered. Three types of nonlinear sources, i.e. anharmonicity, nonlinear damping and nonlinear coupling, are considered for a single mode system. The simulation results demonstrate that the width of the incident THz pulse can markedly affect the properties of 2DTS and that different sources have different influences. This study reveals a more practical insight for 2DTS and could provide much information, such as the optimal width and interval of THz pulses, to guide possible future experiments.     

Propagation effects in electro-optic sampling of terahertz pulses in GaAs

Freely propagating terahertz pulses are detected in the time domain by electro-optic sampling in bulk GaAs. We investigate the influence of dispersion of the near-infrared sampling pulse on the transients by varying the thickness of the GaAs crystal. Pronounced propagation effects are identified that originate from the frequency dependence of the phase-matching condition between the terahertz and the sampling pulse.     

Real-time terahertz scanning imaging by use of a pyroelectric array camera and image denoising

A high-resolution large-area terahertz (THz) scanning imaging system is demonstrated based on a 124×124 pyroelectric array camera and a CO(2) pumped continuous-wave THz laser. By applying a scanning mechanism to the real-time imaging setup, images of large-area targets were accomplished. Self-made resolution charts were employed to test the resolution. In order to improve the image quality, the noise in the images was studied and modeled, and then the performance of several denoising methods was compared with real-time THz original images. The experimental results show that, with the help of anisotropic diffusion, noise can be effectively suppressed, and the results are visually pleasant even when there is great attenuation. Those results greatly confirm application potentials of THz imaging using pyroelectric cameras in the field of concealed object detection.     

Spatial carrier fringe pattern demodulation by use of a two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform

A novel technique that uses a fan two-dimensional (2D) continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to phase demodulate fringe patterns is proposed. The fan 2D CWT algorithm is tested by using computer generated and real fringe patterns. The result of this investigation reveals that the 2D CWT technique is capable of successfully demodulating fringe patterns. The proposed algorithm demodulates fringe patterns without the requirement of removing their background illumination prior to the demodulation process. Also, the algorithm is exceptionally robust against speckle noise. The performance of the 2D CWT technique in fringe pattern demodulation is compared with that of the 1D CWT algorithms. This comparison indicates that the 2D CWT outperforms its 1D counterpart for this application.     

Invariant pattern recognition by use of a spatial code division multiplexing approach

Invariant pattern recognition can be achieved by use of harmonic decomposition, for example circular harmonics are used for rotation invariant recognition. A common problem with such methods is that often only a single term of the harmonic decomposition is used, and it does not contain a sufficient amount of the reference energy. Thus discrimination capability is limited, especially in the presence of noise or other disturbances. By using several terms of the harmonic decomposition together this problem can be solved; this can be achieved by the use of code division filter multiplexing. Several harmonic terms are encoded onto a single filter, and the signal is simultaneously correlated with all of them, hence producing enhanced discrimination capabilities. Here two methods are suggested for such encoding. The first involves multiplexing the filters in the Fourier plane, while the second involves multiplexing in the image plane.     

Polarization response of two-dimensional metallic photonic crystals studied by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

The polarization characteristics of a terahertz (THz) wave transmitted through two-dimensional (2-D) metallic photonic crystals (MPCs) are investigated. The 2-D MPCs studied in this paper are metal slabs perforated periodically with circular holes. We measured the polarization characteristics of the THz wave using a THz time-domain spectroscopic system with wire grid polarizers in the time and frequency domains. The linearly polarized incident THz wave changes its polarization direction and becomes elliptic after it transmits through the sample. This phenomenon is highly sensitive to the incident angle. It is shown that the frequency range at which the polarization rotation occurs is related to the lattice constant of a photonic crystal, indicating the importance of photonic band modes of the 2-D MPC in the mechanism of the phenomenon.     

太赫兹医学成像研究进展

太赫兹波所具有的无损性以及大量生物分子在太赫兹频段的指纹特性,使其在医学成像领域有着良好的应用前景。本文首先简要概述了太赫兹的医学成像技术手段,其次分别介绍了太赫兹在离体、活体组织中成像的研究现状。生物组织中的水会对太赫兹波产生强吸收,使得成像对比度受限。目前,为了减少组织中的水对成像的影响,针对离体组织的太赫兹成像大多需要进行切片、脱水等预处理,活体中的成像则主要应用在浅表组织。文章重点介绍了活体成像中有望提高太赫兹成像对比度的纳米粒子造影剂,最后对太赫兹医学成像的发展进行了展望。     

Polarization control by use of the electro-optic effect in periodically poled lithium niobate

We propose a method to control the polarization of light by the electro-optic effect in periodically poled lithium niobate. A single integrated chip of Z-cut lithium niobate having two sections is used. The first section is not periodically poled, whereas the second section is. With an electric field applied along the Z axis of the first section and another electric field applied along the Y axis of the second section, light with an arbitrary elliptical polarization can be converted into a fixed linearly polarized state.     

Analysis of electro-optic crystal-based Fabry-Perot etalons for high-speed spatial light modulators

The use of electro-optic (EO) crystal-based Fabry-Perot modulators (FPMs) as high-speed spatial light modulators is proposed. The FPMs operate with an extremely low drive voltage and a high extinction ratio. It is revealed by analysis of both the linear EO effect and the inverse piezoelectric effect of various EO crystals that three kinds of crystal configuration are suitable as FPMs. One of these is applicable to isotropic crystals, point groups 23 and (-)43m, and the others are better suited for uniaxial EO crystals, point groups (-)42m and 3m. Typical EO crystals suitable as FPMs are ferroelectric crystals such as LiNbO3, LiTaO3, and LiIO3 and sillenite compounds such as Bi12SiO20 and Bi12GeO20 as well as compound semiconductors such as GaAs and GaP.     

Anomalous spatial modifications of beams diffracted by two-dimensional periodic media

By using a rigorous plane-wave representation, we examine the diffracted fields generated by a Gaussian beam incident onto the planar upper boundary of a 2D periodic structure. We first determine a geometric profile for every diffracted beam by neglecting the amplitude variation of its plane-wave spectrum. We then account for the spectral variation and show that, with respect to that geometric profile, every actual diffracted beam exhibits spatial modifications in the form of 2D lateral displacements, focal shifts, angular deviations, and beam-width alterations. These effects are relatively large if the incidence conditions tend to generate grating resonances. The magnitudes of the beam modifications are illustrated by using a canonic grating model that consists of a planar surface whose impedance varies sinusoidally along its two orthogonal directions. We also develop accurate analytical expressions for the spatial modifications by expressing the spectral amplitude functions in terms of Padé approximants. We thus find that the 2D spatial effects exhibit greater complexity and include features that are absent in previously reported cases involving 1D periodic surfaces.     

Time-domain analysis of bandgap characteristics of two-dimensional periodic structures by use of a source-model technique

We introduce a time-domain source-model technique for analysis of two-dimensional, transverse-magnetic, plane-wave scattering by a photonic crystal slab composed of a finite number of identical layers, each comprising a linear periodic array of dielectric cylinders. The proposed technique takes advantage of the periodicity of the slab by solving the problem within a unit cell of the periodic structure. A spectral analysis of the temporal behavior of the fields scattered by the slab shows a clear agreement between frequency bands where the spectral density of the transmitted energy is low and the bandgaps of the corresponding two-dimensionally infinite periodic structure. The effect of the bandwidth of the incident pulse and its center frequency on the manner it is transmitted through and reflected by the slab is studied via numerical examples.     

太赫兹成像技术在肿瘤检测中的应用

太赫兹(THz)波是频率位于0.1 THz^10 THz的电磁波。因其具有非电离性,以及可与多数生物分子产生共振响应等特性,在生物医学领域有着巨大应用潜力,尤其在肿瘤检测方面。太赫兹成像技术作为生物医学领域一种新的成像技术,吸引国内外多个研究小组对其开展深入研究。本文列举分析了多种太赫兹成像技术在肿瘤检测的应用,其中可分为太赫兹扫描成像、太赫兹层析成像、太赫兹全息成像以及太赫兹近场成像,介绍了这些成像方式的基本原理以及国内外研究现状,最后对太赫兹成像技术在生物领域的未来做出展望。     

Lensless imaging by spatial Fourier synthesis holography

The technique of Fourier synthesis holography is extended to the spatial domain. A spatially extended source is decomposed into its Fourier components, and a hologram of an object distribution is formed at each spatial frequency and stored in a computer. Upon synthesis in the computer a clear image can be formed of the object without the use of lenses.     

Parameter discretization in two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform for fast fringe pattern analysis

The two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform (2D-CWT) technique provides robust processing for digital fringe pattern analysis. To cope with the problem of long computation time, a concept called the cover map is introduced to speed up the 2D-CWT analysis. The cover map is constructed by discretizing the continuous dilation and rotation parameters. The discretized parameters help substantially reduce the processing time without affecting the analysis accuracy. The theories are presented and the validity and effectiveness of the proposed concept are demonstrated by computer simulation and real experiment.     

Evaluation of three-dimensional convolutions by use of two-dimensional filtering

A three-dimensional to two-dimensional mapping is proposed that permits the reduction of three-dimensional convolutions-correlations to two-dimensional ones and thereby lays a theoretical foundation for their optical implementation.     

Transient deformation measurement with electronic speckle pattern interferometry by use of a holographic optical element for spatial phase stepping

We have used a computer-generated holographic optical element (HOE) with electronic speckle pattern interferometry to calculate the interference phase corresponding to the deformation of a test object from a single TV frame. The HOE is a modified crossed phase grating that introduces a known phase change between the +/-1 diffracted orders, without being translated. The progressive propagation of transient mechanical waves was measured with an rms precision of 2pi/30.     

Improvement of terahertz imaging with a dynamic subtraction technique

By use of dynamic subtraction it is feasible to adopt phase-sensitive detection with a CCD camera to reduce long-term optical background drift. We report on a two-order improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio. The improved system is used to image terahertz field distribution generated by an optically rectified electro-optic crystal with a modulation depth as small as 10(-4). We also introduce a modified detection geometry that realizes near-field imaging capability with greatly improved spatial resolution.     

太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像技术的发展与应用

作为太赫兹技术中的重要组成部分,太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像一经问世就引起了行业内的广泛关注,人们引入了各种方法去提升此成像技术的测量性能,同时也尝试将此成像技术应用于不同的工业和基础研究领域。本文综述了近年来人们对太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像的技术改良和应用研究,包括提升成像系统的空间分辨率、信噪比、信息获取能力,以及将此成像技术应用于光谱识别检测、超表面器件功能验证、太赫兹特殊光束测量、太赫兹表面波观测等,希望该综述能够推动太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像的进一步技术革新和应用拓展。