About This Webinar
Over the years, optoelectronic terahertz instrumentation has improved in terms of both performance and robustness, and various industrial installations are already underway. This presentation reviews two of the most common concepts, i.e., time-domain and frequency-domain approaches, and presents the state-of-the-art as well as emerging applications for each technology. Pulsed or time-domain terahertz systems offer the advantage of a broad bandwidth and a high measurement speed. The highest signal quality (dynamic range) is attained with systems that incorporate precise mechanical delay stages. An optimized laser design and a high-power indium gallium arsenide emitter recently demonstrated a peak dynamic range of 137 dB, the highest value reported to date with a time-domain terahertz setup.
Industrial use cases of these systems include noncontact conductivity measurements of semiconductor materials. A customized modification involves near-field receivers, which enable a spatial resolution on the micrometer level. Such systems have successfully probed the inside structure of integrated circuits, distinguishing original integrated circuits from counterfeit ones. Continuous wave or frequency-domain spectrometers are preferred for applications that require the highest spectral resolution, and have been used to measure narrow signatures of high-Q resonators, metamaterials, or low-pressure gases. The use of improved receivers has led to a ~15-dB increase in dynamic range, and for the first time, continuous wave terahertz systems have attained a bandwidth >5 THz. For applications that require an ultimate stability of the frequency and phase of terahertz signals, it is advisable to lock the two continuous wave lasers to a single frequency comb. This concept transfers the extraordinary stability of optical oscillators into the microwave and terahertz region while maintaining a wide tunability of the terahertz frequency. Such systems extend the frequency range of vector network analyzers or serve as a testbed for wireless communication links.
Who should attend:
Researchers and engineers working in the fields of terahertz science, nondestructive testing, semiconductor inspection, and next-generation wireless communication research. This webinar explains how these applications benefit from the use of terahertz technologies, enabling new measurement techniques that have required contact-based or even destructive measurements.
About the presenter:
Anselm Deninger studied physics at the University of Mainz, Germany. He received his diploma degree in 1997 and his Ph.D. in 2000, having investigated the use of spin-polarized helium-3 gas for in vivo magnetic-resonance imaging of human lungs and airways. Deninger joined TOPTICA Photonics in 2001. He worked on distributed-feedback lasers as well as laser stabilization techniques and contributed to building TOPTICA’s first commercial terahertz system. In 2006, he was appointed product manager, where his responsibilities included time-domain and frequency-domain terahertz technologies. Since 2021, he has led a newly formed division, Technical Sales. Deninger has written or co-authored more than 20 publications on terahertz instrumentation and applications, including a book chapter on photomixing.
About the sponsor:
TOPTICA develops and manufactures high-end laser systems for scientific and industrial applications. The portfolio includes diode lasers, ultrafast fiber lasers, terahertz systems, frequency combs, and continuous wave fiber lasers and amplifiers. OEM customers, scientists, and more than a dozen Nobel laureates all acknowledge the world-class, exceptional specifications of TOPTICA’s lasers, as well as their reliability and longevity.