Low-cost THz camera is polarization sensitive in real-time
A team featuring ISN-affiliated MIT professors Moungi Bawendi, Vladimir Bulovic, and Keith Nelson, working with MIT colleagues and researchers from Stanford, the University of Minnesota, and Samsung, has developed a fast, sensitive, low-cost terahertz camera that operates at room temperature and pressure and can capture information on the polarization of the THz waves in real-time. Work to improve the already impressive results, particularly though further miniaturization, continues, with an eye toward potential application in fields ranging from materials inspection and quality control to security scanning to astrophysics.
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Illustration shows terahertz illumination (yellow curves at top right) entering the new camera system, where it stimulates quantum dots inside nanoscale holes (shown as illuminated rings) to emit visible light, which is then detected using a CMOS-based chip (bottom left) like those in digital cameras. Image: Courtesy of the researchers