Real-time imaging using a 4.3-THz quantum cascade laser and a 320 /spl times/ 240 microbolometer focal-plane array |
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Authors: | AWM Lee BS Williams S Kumar Qing Hu JL Reno |
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Affiliation: | Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA; |
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Abstract: | We report the use of a /spl sim/50-mW peak power 4.3-THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) as an illumination source for real-time imaging with a 320 /spl times/ 240 element room-temperature microbolometer focal-plane array detector. The QCL is modulated synchronously with the focal-plane array for differential imaging. Signal-to-noise ratios of /spl sim/340 are achieved at a 20-frame/s acquisition rate, and the optical noise equivalent power of the detector array at 4.3 THz is estimated to be /spl sim/320 pW//spl radic/Hz. Both reflection and transmission mode imaging are demonstrated. |
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