Peter Uhd Jepsen

Terahertz Imaging Systems With Aperture Synthesis Techniques

This paper presents the research and development of two terahertz imaging systems based on photonic and electronic principles, respectively. As part of this study, a survey of ongoing research in the field of terahertz imaging is provided focusing on security applications. Existing terahertz imaging systems are reviewed in terms of the employed architecture and data processing strategies. Active multichannel measurement method is found to be promising for real-time applications among the various terahertz imaging techniques and is chosen as a basis for the imaging instruments presented in this paper. An active system operation allows for a wide dynamic range, which is important for image quality. The described instruments employ a multichannel high-sensitivity heterodyne architecture and aperture filling techniques, with close to real-time image acquisition time. In the case of the photonic imaging system, mechanical scanning is completely obsolete. We show 2-D images of simulated 3-D image data for both systems. The reconstruction algorithms are suitable for 3-D real-time operation, only limited by mechanical scanning.

Optical fiber link for transmission of 1-nJ femtosecond laser pulses at 1550 nm

We report on numerical and experimental characterization of the performance of a fiber link optimized for the delivery of sub-100-fs laser pulses at 1550 nm over several meters of fiber. We investigate the power handling capacity of the link, and demonstrate all-fiber delivery of 1-nJ pulses over a distance of 5.3 m. The fiber link consists of dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF) and standard single-mode fiber. The optical pulses at different positions in the fiber link are measured using frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG). The results are compared with numerical simulations of the pulse propagation based on the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The high input power capacity of the fiber link allows the splitting and distribution of femtosecond pulses to an array of fibers with applications in multi-channel fiber-coupled terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and imaging systems. We demonstrate THz pulse generation and detection using a distributed fiber link with 32 channels and 2.6 nJ input pulse energy.

Two-dimensional fractal metamaterials for applications in THz

The concept of metamaterials (MTMs) is acknowledged for providing new horizons for controlling electromagnetic radiations thus their use in frequency ranges otherwise difficult to manage (e.g. THz radiation) broadens our possibility to better understand our world as well as opens the path for new applications. THz radiation can be employed for various purposes, among them the study of vibrations in biological molecules, motion of electrons in semiconductors and propagation of acoustic shock waves in crystals. We propose here a new THz fractal MTM design that shows very high transmission in the desired frequency range as well as a clear differentiation between one polarisation and another. Based on theoretical predictions we fabricated and measured a fractal based THz metamaterial that shows more than 60% field transmission at around 1 THz for TE polarized light while the TM waves have almost 80% field transmission peak at 0.6 THz. One of the main characteristics of this design is its tunability by design: by simply changing the length of the fractal elements one can choose the operating frequency window. The modelling, fabrication and characterisation results will be presented in this paper.