Terahertz cameras might now be possible

[dabateman]

This is a fun article which seems possible to allow for terahertz imaging.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-combine-lasers-terahertz-camera-unseen.html

 

But its not a simple chip.

 

Link to the publication:

https://www.osapublishing.org/optica/abstract.cfm?uri=optica-7-2-186

 

 

[Stefano]

You know that this things catch me! They basically convert THz radiation into optical radiation that can be detected. They captured between 1 and 2 THz (0.3-0.15 mm). This should enable imaging at millimerer resolution (and more). Maybe one day we will have low-cost, portable THz cameras.

[dabateman]

Yes I figured you would be interested, thats why I posted it.

 

[Stefano]

We have two big holes in the EM spectrum: Vacuum UV and the THz gap. I also found out that if I want to even own an X-Ray tube in my country, I have to contact a lot of people (such as the local firefighters station) 30 days before entering in possess of it, and I have to prove that I stay below the limits of radiation. In other words, I can't do that. You may be the first person here to break the 100 nm barrier, without going down to X-Rays (that's 12.4 eV per photon), but that is more than difficult. Still, far-infrared radiation (above LWIR), is hard to deal with, hard to detect, hard to emit (I know that blackbody radiation will emit FIR light, but that's not the point). That is a pretty much unexplored land, imagine what we could see there (probably naked people, and apart from that, you probably would see a dark fog in the distance, since air is not really transparent at THz frequencies). For now, 12-14 µm seems to be the upper limit.

[Bill De Jager]

I decided to review terahertz radiation since it had been a while since I'd looked it up. Looks like progress continues to be made. Here is one very interesting discovery that we just can't sense with our own bodies: Peeling adhesive tape emits electromagnetic radiation at terahertz frequencies https://www.osapubli...i=ol-34-14-2195

 

If we get terahertz cameras then maybe this would be a way to light up subjects!

[Stefano]

Yes, peeling tape should also emit X-Rays in vacuum, enough to make a radiograph of a finger. Probably the THz emission isn't bright, but could be seen with a THz camera.