Abstract-Imaging of broadband terahertz beams using an array of antenna-coupled microbolometers operating at room temperature

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?uri=oe-21-4-4817

Jonathan Oden, Jérome Meilhan, Jérémy Lalanne-Dera, Jean-François Roux, Frédéric Garet, Jean-Louis Coutaz, and François Simoens  »View Author Affiliations

We present results of 2D real-time imaging of terahertz (THz) beam generated by a photoconductive antenna driven by a femtosecond oscillator. The detector, operating at room temperature, is a 320 x 240 array of antenna-coupled microbolometers with integrated CMOS read-out electronics delivering 25 images per second. High quality images of broadband THz beams covering the 0.1-2 THz range are recorded while maintaining a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 for detected THz power as low as 25 nW. The compactness of the easy-to-use uncooled camera makes it very useful for the alignment of systems such as THz time-domain spectrometers and for the characterization of emitters, optics and other components.