Improvement of an InfraRed Pyroelectric Detector Performances in THz Range Using the Terajet Effect

Abstract

An infrared (IR) pyroelectric detector was investigated for terahertz (THz) detection using the principle of the terajet effect, which focuses the beam beyond the diffraction limit. The terahertz beam was coupled to the detector’s optical window through a two-wavelength-dimension dielectric cubic particle-lens based on the terajet effect. We experimentally demonstrate an enhancement of about 6 dB in the sensitivity under excitation of 0.2 THz without degradation of the noise equivalent power value. The results show that the proposed method could be applied to increase the sensitivity of various commercial IR sensors for THz applications that do not require modification of the internal structure, and it may apply also to acoustics and plasmonic detectors.

Comparative Study of Single Crystal and Polymeric Pyroelectric Detectors in the 0.9–2.0 THz Range Using Monochromatic Laser Radiation of the NovoFEL

“…The attractiveness of polymers is determined by their low cost, flexibility, mechanical and chemical resistance, and the possibility to be deposited on various types of substrates. Recent advances in pyroelectric sensor technology, comprising both single crystal and polymeric materials, include: (i) pulsed-laser detectors based on composite materials [13]; (ii) biomedical system-on-a-chip [14]; (iii) integrated sensors [15,16]; (iv) detectors for THz time-domain spectroscopy and imaging [17][18][19][20]; (v) detectors for optoacoustic microscopy [21,22]; (vi) the use of the terajet effect and Fano response to improve performance of detectors [23,24]; (vii) 3D-printed detectors [25]; (viii) X-ray generators [26], etc.…”