After more than a dozen years of basic research into the submillimeter and far infrared range, terahertz (THz) wave research has finally come into its own, and is recognized by the world scientific community as a new frontier. While femtosecond laser pumped THz wave sources have opened up a new vista in applied research, the ideal THz wave source will likely require high coherence and wide tunability. When this level of quality is finally made available in a userfriendly device, there is little doubt that applied research efforts into the THz region will enjoy a true renaissance. In this direction we have developed a widely tunable injection seeded THz-wave parametric generator (is-TPG) that operates at room temperature. The spectral resolution is the Fourier transform limit of the nanosecond THz wave pulses. In our laboratory, THz-waves continue to broaden their range of applications as following. We have developed a basic technology for THz imaging which allows detection and identification of drugs concealed in envelopes by introducing the component spatial pattern analysis. On the other hand, for inspecting electrical failures in large scale integration circuit, we developed the laser-THz emission microscope, which records the map of THz emission amplitude in a sample upon excitation with fs laser pulses.

Date Published: 12 October 2007
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 6772, Terahertz Physics, Devices, and Systems II, 677202 (12 October 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.731745

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6772:
Terahertz Physics, Devices, and Systems II
Mehdi Anwar; Anthony J. DeMaria; Michael S. Shur, Editor(s)