Haochong Huang

Terahertz in-line digital holography of dragonfly hindwing: amplitude and phase reconstruction at enhanced resolution by extrapolation

We report here on terahertz (THz) digital holography on a biological specimen. A continuous-wave (CW) THz in-line holographic setup was built based on a 2.52 THz CO(2) pumped THz laser and a pyroelectric array detector. We introduced novel statistical method of obtaining true intensity values for the pyroelectric array detectors pixels. Absorption and phase-shifting images of a dragonflys hindwing were reconstructed simultaneously from single in-line hologram. Furthermore, we applied phase retrieval routines to eliminate twin image and enhanced the resolution of the reconstructions by hologram extrapolation beyond the detector area. The finest observed features are 35 μm width cross veins.

Terahertz in-line digital holography of human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue

Terahertz waves provide a better contrast in imaging soft biomedical tissues than X-rays, and unlike X-rays, they cause no ionisation damage, making them a good option for biomedical imaging. Terahertz absorption imaging has conventionally been used for cancer diagnosis. However, the absorption properties of a cancerous sample are influenced by two opposing factors: an increase in absorption due to a higher degree of hydration and a decrease in absorption due to structural changes. It is therefore difficult to diagnose cancer from an absorption image. Phase imaging can thus be critical for diagnostics. We demonstrate imaging of the absorption and phase-shift distributions of 3.2 mm × 2.3 mm × 30-μm-thick human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue by continuous-wave terahertz digital in-line holography. The acquisition time of a few seconds for a single in-line hologram is much shorter than that of other terahertz diagnostic techniques, and future detectors will allow acquisition of meaningful holograms without sample dehydration. The resolution of the reconstructions was enhanced by sub-pixel shifting and extrapolation. Another advantage of this technique is its relaxed minimal sample size limitation. The fibrosis indicated in the phase distribution demonstrates the potential of terahertz holographic imaging to obtain a more objective, early diagnosis of cancer.

Continuous-wave terahertz digital holographic tomography with a pyroelectric array detector

Abstract. Terahertz computed tomography makes use of the penetrability of terahertz radiation and obtains three-dimensional (3-D) object projection data. Continuous-wave terahertz digital holographic tomography with a pyroelectric array detector is presented. Compared with scanning terahertz computed tomography, a pyroelectric array detector can obtain a large quantity of projection data in a short time. To obtain a 3-D image, in-line digital holograms of the object are recorded from various directions and reconstructed to obtain two-dimensional (2-D) projection data; then 2-D cross-sectional images and 3-D images of the internal structure of the object are obtained by the filtered back projection algorithm. The presented system can rapidly reconstruct the 3-D object and reveals the internal 3-D structure of the object. A 3-D reconstruction of a polyethylene straw is presented with a 6% error in retrieved diameter.

Experimental imaging research on continuous-wave terahertz in-line digital holography

The terahertz (THz) imaging is an advanced technique on the basis of the unique characteristics of terahertz radiation. Due to its noncontact, non-invasive and high-resolution capabilities, it has already shown great application prospects in biomedical observation, sample measurement, and quality control. The continuous-wave terahertz in-line digital holography is a combination of terahertz technology and in-line digital holography of which the source is a continuous-wave terahertz laser. Over the past decade, many researchers used different terahertz sources and detectors to undertake experiments. In this paper, the pre-process of the hologram is accomplished after the holograms’ recording process because of the negative pixels in the pyroelectric detector and the air vibration caused by the chopper inside the camera. To improve the quality of images, the phase retrieval algorithm is applied to eliminate the twin images. In the experiment, the pin which terahertz wave can’t penetrate and the TPX slice carved letters “THz” are chosen for the samples. The amplitude and phase images of samples are obtained and the twin image and noise in the reconstructed images are suppressed. The results validate the feasibility of the terahertz in-line digital holographic imaging technique. This work also shows the terahertz in-line digital holography technique’s prospects in materials science and biological samples’ detection.

High-resolution terahertz inline digital holography based on quantum cascade laser

Abstract. A key requirement to put terahertz (THz) imaging systems into applications is high resolution. Based on a self-developed THz quantum cascade laser (QCL), we demonstrate a THz inline digital holography imaging system with high lateral resolution. In our case, the lateral resolution of this holography imaging system is pushed to about 70  μm, which is close to the intrinsic resolution limit of this system. To the best of our knowledge, this is much smaller than what has been reported up to now. This is attributed to a series of improvements, such as shortening the QCL wavelength, increasing Nx and Ny by the synthetic aperture method, smoothing the source beam profile, and diminishing vibration due to the cryorefrigeration device. This kind of holography system with a resolution smaller than 100  μm opens the door for many imaging experiments. It will turn the THz imaging systems into applications.

Terahertz in-line digital holographic multiplane imaging method

Terahertz waves of which frequency spans from 0.1 to 10 THz bridge the gap between the infrared spectrum and microwaves. Owing to the special features of terahertz wave, such as penetrability and non-ionizing, terahertz imaging technique is a very significant and important method for inspections and detections. Digital holography can reconstruct the amplitude and phase distributions of a sample without scanning and it already has many successful applications in the area of visible and infrared light. The terahertz in-line digital holographic multi-plane imaging system which is presented in this paper is the combination of a continuous-wave terahertz source and the in-line scheme of digital holography. In order to observe a three dimensional (3D) shape sample only a portion of which appears in good focus, the autofocusing algorithm is brought to the data process. The synthetic aperture method is also applied to provide the high resolution imaging effect in the terahertz waveband. Both intrinsic twin images and defocused objective images confuse the quality of the image in an individual reconstructed plane. In order to solve this issue, phase retrieval iteration algorithm is used for the reconstruction. In addition, the reconstructed amplitude image in each plane multiplies the mask of which the threshold depends on the values of the autofocusing curve. A sample with simple artificial structure is observed which verifies that the present method is an authentic tool to acquire the multi-plane information of a target in terahertz waves. It can expect a wide application in terahertz defect detecting, terahertz medical inspection and other important areas in the future.

Terahertz computed tomography in three-dimensional using a pyroelectric array detector

Terahertz frequency range spans from 0.1 to 10 THz. Terahertz radiation can penetrate nonpolar materials and nonmetallic materials, such as plastics, wood, and clothes. Then the feature makes the terahertz imaging have important research value. Terahertz computed tomography makes use of the penetrability of terahertz radiation and obtains three-dimensional object projection data. In the paper, continuous-wave terahertz computed tomography with a pyroelectric array detectoris presented. Compared with scanning terahertz computed tomography, a pyroelectric array detector can obtain a large number of projection data in a short time, as the acquisition mode of the array pyroelectric detector omit the projection process on the vertical and horizontal direction. With the two-dimensional cross-sectional images of the object are obtained by the filtered back projection algorithm. The two side distance of the straw wall account for 80 pixels, so it multiplied by the pixel size is equal to the diameter of the straw about 6.4 mm. Compared with the actual diameter of the straw, the relative error is 6%. In order to reconstruct the three-dimensional internal structure image of the straw, the y direction range from 70 to 150 are selected on the array pyroelectric detector and are reconstructed by the filtered back projection algorithm. As the pixel size is 80 μm, the height of three-dimensional internal structure image of the straw is 6.48 mm. The presented system can rapidly reconstruct the three-dimensional object by using a pyroelectric array detector and explores the feasibility of on non-destructive evaluation and security testing.

Continuous-wave terahertz reflective off-axis digital holography

Terahertz (THz) continuous-wave digital holography is an advanced interference imaging technique that can reconstruct quantitative distributions of amplitude and phase of the sample in real time with high resolution. In this paper, a reflective off-axis holographic system is presented. A Gaussian fitting method is applied to enhance the hologram contrast and Laplacian of Gaussian filter is used to obtain the reconstructed distance automatically. Furthermore, spectrum filtering method and angular spectrum algorithm are used to obtain the complex amplitude of the one-yuan chinese metal coin. The results confirm the prospective application of terahertz digital holography in the surface morphology for reflective samples.