A passive, fully-staring THz video camera based on kinetic inductance bolometer arrays

Juho Luomahaara, Hannu Sipola, Leif Grönberg, Aki Mäyrä, Mika Aikio, Andrey Timofeev, Kirsi Tappura, Anssi Rautiainen, Aleksi Tamminen, Visa Vesterinen, Mikko Leivo, Feng Gao, Hannu Vasama, Arttu Luukanen, Juha Hassel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Current state-of-the-art security video cameras operating in the THz regime employ up to a few hundred detectors together with optomechanical scanning to cover an adequate field-of-view for practical concealed object detection. As a downside, the scanning reduces the integration time per pixel compromising sensitivity, increases the complexity, and reduces the reliability of the system. In contrast to this, we demonstrate a video camera, for the first time, basing its operation on the concept of a fully staring 2-D detector array with a single detector element responsible for a single imaged pixel. The imaging system is built around the detector technology of kinetic inductance bolometers, allowing the operation in the intermediate temperature range >5 K and the scale-up of the detector count into multikilo-pixel arrays and beyond. The system is designed for a field-of-view of 2 × 1 m 2 and an imaging distance of 2.5 m. We describe the main components of the system and show images from concealed object experiments performed at a near-video rate of 9 Hz.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9229175
Pages (from-to)101-108
JournalIEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2021
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Bolometer
  • Bolometers
  • Cameras
  • Detectors
  • focal plane array
  • Inductance
  • Instruments
  • kinetic inductance
  • Kinetic theory
  • radiometry
  • security screening
  • THz imaging
  • THz video camera

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