SC164 THz Technology

Sunday, May 4, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Alan Cheville; Oklahoma State Univ., USA

Level: Beginner (no background or minimal training is necessary to understand course material)

Course Description
Pulsed terahertz (THz) waves with a frequency ranges from <0.1 THz to 10 THz (sometimes called T-rays) are finding unique applications in both scientific and industrial applications for medical applications, basic research and material characterization. THz pulses occupy a large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between the infrared and microwave bands. However, compared to the relatively well-developed science and technology at microwave, optical and X-ray frequencies, advanced technology development in the THz band remains relatively unexplored. Just as one can use visible light to create a photograph, radio waves to transmit music and speech, or X-rays to reveal broken bones, this course will cover how to use THz pulses for similar applications in the far infrared.

Participants will leave understanding the fundamentals of free-space THz optoelectronics, including how to generate and detect THz pulses. A variety of different techniques will be discussed, including photoconductive antennas or electro-optic crystals to achieve diffraction-limited spatial resolution, femtosecond temporal resolution, ultra-wide spectral bandwidth and high sensitivity.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable you to:

• Learn what type of optical source is required to drive a pulsed THz system.
• Choose between photoconductive and electro-optic THz detectors.
• Design an optimal beam coupling system between a THz source and detector.
• Characterize a THz system and optimize its spatial and temporal resolutions, bandwidth and dynamic range.
• Construct several types of THz imaging systems.
• Extract the complex refractive index, permittivity, or conductivity from a THz measurement.
• Specify (mostly) off-the-shelf components to build your own THz system.

Intended Audience
This course is designed for graduate students and researchers in academia and industry who are interested in far-infrared pulsed THz radiation.

Instructor Biography
Alan Cheville explores THz applications as an associate professor in electrical engineering at Oklahoma State University. He has spent more than a decade developing a variety of measurement and characterization instruments based on freely propagating THz pulses and training advanced and beginning students in how to use THz spectroscopy. One of his current projects is making the techniques of THz time domain spectroscopy available to a broad audience.