Ultra-high-speed THz imaging chip developed

High-speed imaging technology is one of the important research fields of THz technology. It has important application value in material analysis, high-energy physical process analysis, biomedical imaging and human body security inspection. However, the lack of low-temperature matched readout circuits makes the design of a fast response photonic focal plane array detector very difficult, leading to a slow development of THz high-speed and real-time imaging technology. To solve this problem, a research team led by Cao Juncheng, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, used a method of stacking and growing THz quantum well detectors (THzQWP) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using molecular beam epitaxy Pixel imaging THz frequency upconversion imaging chip (THzQWP-LED, Figure 1). The chip has a peak detection frequency of 5.2 THz, an equivalent noise power of 5.2pW? Hz0.5, and an equivalent imaging pixel of 240x240. The chip has been completed with THz quantum cascade laser (THzQCL) linkage imaging experiments to achieve real-time imaging of tens of microns-scale diffraction fringes THzQCL spot (Figure 2), and completed within 500 ns of THz QCL spot Of single-frame high-speed imaging (equivalent to two million frames / s imaging speed). Relevant research results published in the "Scientific Report" (Scientific Reports 6, 25383, 2016). The successful development of the above imaging chip is an important advance in high-speed THz imaging technology, which is of great significance to the development of high-speed, high-energy physical processes, material analysis and biomedical imaging in this frequency band.