Inexpensive imaging at THz frequencies with Ne indicator lamp detector arrays

The properties of terahertz (THz) radiation are well known. They penetrate well most non-conducting media; there are no known biological hazards, and atmospheric attenuation and scattering is lower than for visual and IR radiation. Recently we have found that common miniature commercial neon glow discharge detector (GDD) lamps costing typically about 30 cents each exhibit high sensitivity to THz radiation, with microsecond order rise times, thus making them excellent candidates for such focal plane arrays. Based on this technology we designed, built and tested 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 GDD focal plane arrays. A line vector of 32 GDD pixels is being designed in order to increase the number of pixels in such arrays and thus the image resolution. Unique large aperture quasi optic mirrors were design and tested experimentally in this work. A new technology of light weight large aperture mirrors is proposed in this work. In this case a metal coating on plastic substrate is demonstrated. According to first experiments this technology proves to reliable with minimal deformation in LAB conditions. THz Images at 100 GHz were taken using this new inexpensive technology with good quality and resolution.