The useful compromise between resolution and penetration power of the submillimeter or terahertz (THz) spectral region has long made it attractive for a variety of imaging applications. However, many of the demonstrations of imaging in this spectral region have used strategically oriented targets, especially favorable concealment materials, proximate imaging geometries, etc. This paper reports the results of studies aimed at better understanding the phenomenology of targets, the impact of this phenomenology on various active and passive imaging strategies, and most importantly, the development of imaging strategies that do not require the aforementioned special circumstances. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between active and passive images, especially with respect to how they interact with the illumination-and detector-mode structures of various imaging scenarios. It is concluded that the very large dynamic range that can be obtained with active single-mode systems (including focal-plane arrays) can be used in system designs to overcome the deleterious effects that result from the dominance of specular reflections in single-mode active systems as well as to strategically orient targets to obtain recognition. This will aid in the development of a much more robust and generally useful imaging technology in this spectral region.

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The U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed a terahertz (THz) -band imaging system performance model for detection and identification of concealed weaponry. The MATLAB-based model accounts for the effects of all critical sensor and display components and for the effects of atmospheric attenuation, concealment material attenuation, and active illumination. The model is based on recent U.S. Army NVESD sensor performance modeling technology that couples system design parameters to observer-sensor field performance by using the acquire methodology for weapon identification performance predictions. This THz model has been developed in support of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agencies' Terahertz Imaging Focal-Plane Technology (TIFT) program and is currently being used to guide the design and development of a 0:650 THz active-passive imaging system. This paper will describe the THz model in detail, provide and discuss initial modeling results for a prototype THz imaging system, and outline plans to calibrate and validate the model through human perception testing.

The U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed a terahertz (THz) -band imaging system performance model for detection and identification of concealed weaponry. The MATLAB-based model accounts for the effects of all critical sensor and display components and for the effects of atmospheric attenuation, concealment material attenuation, and active illumination. The model is based on recent U.S. Army NVESD sensor performance modeling technology that couples system design parameters to observer-sensor field performance by using the acquire methodology for weapon identification performance predictions. This THz model has been developed in support of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agencies' Terahertz Imaging Focal-Plane Technology (TIFT) program and is currently being used to guide the design and development of a 0:650 THz active-passive imaging system. This paper will describe the THz model in detail, provide and discuss initial modeling results for a prototype THz imaging system, and outline plans to calibrate and validate the model through human perception testing.