Continuous-wave THz imaging system using microwave photonic double sideband modulation

Gao Xiang; Xiaoxiao Cao; Zhang Lu; Zhang Le; Shiwei Wang; Wei Li; Zijie Lu; Hongqi Zhang; Xianbin Yu

doi:10.1117/12.2565368

17 April 2020 Continuous-wave THz imaging system using microwave photonic double sideband modulation

Gao Xiang, Xiaoxiao Cao, Zhang Lu, Zhang Le, Shiwei Wang, Wei Li, Zijie Lu, Hongqi Zhang, Xianbin Yu

Proceedings Volume 11455, Sixth Symposium on Novel Optoelectronic Detection Technology and Applications; 114557S (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2565368
Event: Sixth Symposium on Novel Photoelectronic Detection Technology and Application, 2019, Beijing, China

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a continuous-wave (CW) terahertz (THz) imaging system based on microwave photonic signal generation scheme. Compared to the traditional opto-electronic THz imaging by using unmodulated lasers, our proposed system obtains the amplitude information by using microwave photonic optical double sideband modulation (DSB). As a result, the phase noise and frequency drift of the free-running laser sources are negligible. We experimentally demonstrate a THz imaging system for measuring various 3D-printed samples by using a 300 GHz DSB signal. In the experiment, the optical DSB modulation is realized with an in-phase and quadrature Mach-Zehnder modulator, and THz signals are generated by photo-mixing at a uni-traveling-carrier photodiode. The THz signals passing through the sample is received by a self-mixing-based Schottky barrier diode. The experimental results show signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) a ~25 dB . In addition, we verify that the optical DSB system operating in the linear regime is superior to the carrier-suppressed scheme, which is attributed to higher THz power and higher SNR. Therefore, the proposed scheme based on microwave photonic double sideband modulation is potentially promising in high-resolution object recognition.

Citation Download Citation

Gao Xiang, Xiaoxiao Cao, Zhang Lu, Zhang Le, Shiwei Wang, Wei Li, Zijie Lu, Hongqi Zhang, and Xianbin Yu "Continuous-wave THz imaging system using microwave photonic double sideband modulation", Proc. SPIE 11455, Sixth Symposium on Novel Optoelectronic Detection Technology and Applications, 114557S (17 April 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2565368

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KEYWORDS

Terahertz radiation

Double sideband modulation

Imaging systems

Modulation

Continuous wave operation

Microwave photonics

Optical amplifiers

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