Kazunori Serita

Scanning laser THz imaging system

The laser terahertz (THz) emission microscope (LTEM) is a unique inspection tool which can directly two-dimensionally map the THz pulse emission from a variety of electric materials and devices. Thus, two-dimensional mapping directly yields various physical information by visualizing the distributions of electric field, supercurrent, ferroelectric domain structures, magnetic fluxes, etc. Based on techniques created for conventional LTEM, we have developed a more highly functional laser THz imaging system, including a scanning laser THz (near-field) imaging system having the performance of high-speed and high-resolution, a scanning probe LTEM coupled with an atomic force microscope for high-resolution imaging, and a dynamic THz emission microscope to investigate the ultrafast carrier dynamics two-dimensionally in the sample. These systems offer diverse characteristics, making them suitable for various applications. We take a look at these systems and some typical applications.

Development of laser scanning terahertz imaging system using organic nonlinear optical crystal

We constructed a laser scanning terahertz (THz) imaging system for high-speed imaging by using a galvano scanner and an organic nonlinear optical crystal, DASC, as a two-dimensional THz emitter. Using this system, we succeeded in obtaining high-resolution THz images of a test sample.

Distributed source model for the full-wave electromagnetic simulation of nonlinear terahertz generation

The process of terahertz generation through optical rectification in a nonlinear crystal is modeled using discretized equivalent current sources. The equivalent terahertz sources are distributed in the active volume and computed based on a separately modeled near-infrared pump beam. This approach can be used to define an appropriate excitation for full-wave electromagnetic numerical simulations of the generated terahertz radiation. This enables predictive modeling of the near-field interactions of the terahertz beam with micro-structured samples, e.g. in a near-field time-resolved microscopy system. The distributed source model is described in detail, and an implementation in a particular full-wave simulation tool is presented. The numerical results are then validated through a series of measurements on square apertures. The general principle can be applied to other nonlinear processes with possible implementation in any full-wave numerical electromagnetic solver.

Evaluation of human hairs with terahertz wave

Abstract. Single human hairs using a scanning laser terahertz (THz) imaging system are evaluated. The system features near-field THz emission and far-field THz detection. A sample is set in the vicinity of a two-dimensional THz emitter, and an excitation laser beam is scanned over the emitter via a galvanometer. By detecting the transmitted THz wave pulses that are locally generated at the irradiation spots of the excitation laser, we can obtain the THz transmission image and the spectrum of the sample with imaging time of 47 s for 512×512  pixels and maximum resolution of ∼27  μm. Using the system, we succeeded in observing the specific features of single human hairs in both the THz transmittance spectra and transmission images; it was found that the THz transmittance spectrum of gray hair shows a tendency of increase while that of black hair shows a decrease with increasing frequency above 1.2 THz. We could also observe the change of the moisture retention in the hair, and it is found that cuticles play one of the important roles in keeping moisture inside the hair. Those obtained data indicate that our system can be useful for evaluating single human hairs and those kinds of microscale samples.

Invited Article: Terahertz microfluidic chips sensitivity-enhanced with a few arrays of meta-atoms

We present a nonlinear optical crystal (NLOC)-based terahertz (THz) microfluidic chip with a few arrays of split ring resonators (SRRs) for ultra-trace and quantitative measurements of liquid solutions. The proposed chip operates on the basis of near-field coupling between the SRRs and a local emission of point like THz source that is generated in the process of optical rectification in NLOCs on a sub-wavelength scale. The liquid solutions flowing inside the microchannel modify the resonance frequency and peak attenuation in the THz transmission spectra. In contrast to conventional bio-sensing with far/near-field THz waves, our technique can be expected to compactify the chip design as well as realize high sensitive near-field measurement of liquid solutions without any high-power optical/THz source, near-field probes, and prisms. Using this chip, we have succeeded in observing the 31.8 fmol of ion concentration in actual amount of 318 pl water solutions from the shift of the resonance frequency. The tech...

THz conductivity of semi-insulating and magnetic CoFe2O4 nano-hollow structures through thermally activated polaron

Herein, terahertz (THz) time domain spectroscopy is used to measure the complex conductivity of semi-insulating CoFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and nano-hollow spheres (NHSs) with different diameters ranging from 100 to 350 nm having a nanocrystalline shell thickness of 19 to 90 nm, respectively. Interestingly, the magnitude of conductivity for CoFe2O4 NPs and NHSs of same average diameter (∼100 nm) for a given frequency of 0.3 THz is found to be 0.33 S/m and 9.08 S/m, respectively, indicating that the hollow structure exhibits greater THz conduction in comparison to its solid counterpart. Moreover, THz conductivity can be tailored by varying the nano-shell thickness of NHSs, and a maximum conductivity of 15.61 S/m is observed at 0.3 THz for NHSs of average diameter 250 nm. A detailed study reveals that thermally activated polaronic hopping plays the key role in determining the electrical transport property of CoFe2O4 nanostructures, which is found to solely depend on their magnitude of THz absorptivity. The ...

Evaluation of SiO2@CoFe2O4 nano-hollow spheres through THz pulses

We have synthesized cobalt ferrite (CFO) nanoparticles (NPs) of diameter 100 nm and nano-hollow spheres (NHSs) of diameter 100, 160, 250, and 350 nm by a facile one step template free solvothermal technique and carried out SiO2 coating on their surface following Stober method. The phase and morphology of the nanostructures were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. The magnetic measurements were carried out by vibrating sample magnetometer in order to study the influence of SiO2 coating on the magnetic properties of bare CFO nanostructures. Furthermore, we have applied THz time domain spectroscopy to investigate the THz absorption property of these nanostructures in the frequency range 1.0–2.5 THz. Detailed morphology and size dependent THz absorption study unfolds that the absorption property of these nanostructures sensitively carries the unique signature of its dielectric property.

Magnetic resonance of terahertz metamaterials in parallel plate waveguides

As new designs of metamaterials rapidly emerge, methods of characterizing their fundamental electromagnetic properties become increasingly important. Here, we utilize the parallel plate waveguide associated with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy experiments to analyze the coupling of terahertz radiation to ultrathin electric split-ring resonators located halfway between the waveguide plates. Our observations determine that the magnetic response dominates across the frequency range of the system. The experimental results are confirmed by simulations, emphasizing the usefulness of the proposed approach for further investigations of magnetic coupling in metamaterials in the terahertz regime.

Evaluation of trace amounts of liquid using THz waves

We demonstrated terahertz near-field measurements of trace amounts of liquid. The obtained data show that the information of the solute less than nanogram in the trace amounts of liquid can be sensitively detected.

Terahertz near-field detection of liquid by a scanning laser terahertz imaging system

Terahertz (THz) near-field detection of liquid was demonstrated by using a scanning laser THz imaging system. The obtained data indicate sample specific peaks and the technique has a potential for evaluating small amounts of liquid.