In the 30-800 GHz range interferometric spectrometers are commonly employed in the spectral characterisation ofmaterials and components. However the multi-octave beams propagating through such spectrometers are not onlydiffractively spreading but have a degree of coherence which changes with frequency resulting in an instrument resolutionfunction that changes with frequency. I will describe how it is now possible to treat partially-coherent signal beamsusing Gauss-Hermite beam-mode analysis and will present numerical models, based on this technique, of the instrumentresolution function of a typical spectrometer.
The abbey’s church of Chaalis, in the North of Paris, was founded by Louis VI as a Cistercian monastery on 10th January 1137. In 2013, in the frame the European Commission's 7th Framework Program project CHARISMA [grant agreement no. 228330] the chapel was used as a practical case-study for application of the work done in a task devoted to best practices in historical buildings and monuments. In the chapel, three areas were identified as relevant. The first area was used to make an exercise on diagnosis of the different deterioration patterns. The second area was used to analyze a restored area. The third one was selected to test some hypotheses on the possibility of using the portable instruments to answer some questions related to the deterioration problems. To inspect this area, different tools were used:
-Visible fluorescence under UV,
- THz system,
- Stimulated Infra-Red Thermography, SIRT
- Digital Holographic Speckle Pattern Interferometry, DHSPI
- Condition report by conservator-restorer.
The complementarity and synergy offered by the profitable use of the different integrated tools is clearly shown in this practical exercise.
We systematically examined the mid-20th century Italian painting "After Fishing" (fig. 1) by Ausonio Tanda using multi-spectral (UV, RGB visible, tri-band IR), x-ray and terahertz time-domain spectroscopic imaging. THz-TDSI was performed in both transmission and reflection geometries and the results were compared.
Terahertz (THz) radiation is being developed as a tool for the analysis of cultural heritage, and due to recent advances in technology is now available commercially in systems which can be deployed for field analysis. The radiation is capable of penetrating up to one centimetre of wall plaster and is delivered in ultrafast pulses which are reflected from layers within this region. The technique is non-contact, non-invasive and non-destructive. While sub-surface radar is able to penetrate over a metre of wall plaster, producing details of internal structures, infrared and ultraviolet techniques produce information about the surface layers of wall plaster. THz radiation is able to provide information about the interim region of up to approximately one centimetre into the wall surface. Data from Chartres Cathedral, France, Riga Dome Cathedral, Latvia, and Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction, France is presented each with different research questions. The presence of sub-surface paint layers was expected from documentary evidence, dating to the 13th Century, at Chartres Cathedral. In contrast, at the Riga Dome Cathedral surface painting had been obscured as recently as 1941 during the Russian occupation of Latvia using white lead-based paint. In the 13th Century, wall paintings at the Chapel of the Frescos, Chartreuse du Val de Benediction in Villeneuve les Avignon were constructed using sinopia under-painting on plaster covering uneven stonework.. This paper compares and contrasts the ability of THz radiation to provide information about sub-surface features in churches and Cathedrals across Europe by analysing depth based profiles gained from the reflected signal.
Terahertz pulse imaging (TPI) is a novel noncontact, nondestructive technique for the examination of cultural heritage
artifacts. It has the advantage of broadband spectral range, time-of-flight depth resolution, and penetration through
optically opaque materials. Fiber-coupled, portable, time-domain terahertz systems have enabled this technique to move
out of the laboratory and into the field. Much like the rings of a tree, stratified architectural materials give the
chronology of their environmental and aesthetic history. This work concentrates on laboratory models of stratified
mosaics and fresco paintings, specimens extracted from a neolithic excavation site in Catalhoyuk, Turkey, and
specimens measured at the medieval Eglise de Saint Jean-Baptiste in Vif, France. Preparatory spectroscopic studies of
various composite materials, including lime, gypsum and clay plasters are presented to enhance the interpretation of
results and with the intent to aid future computer simulations of the TPI of stratified architectural material. The breadth
of the sample range is a demonstration of the cultural demand and public interest in the life history of buildings. The
results are an illustration of the potential role of TPI in providing both a chronological history of buildings and in the
visualization of obscured wall paintings and mosaics.
KEYWORDS: Terahertz radiation, Signal to noise ratio, Wavelets, Spectroscopy, Statistical modeling, System identification, Absorption, Signal processing, Signal attenuation, Classification systems
This work compares classification results of lactose, mandelic acid and dl-mandelic acid, obtained on the basis of their
respective THz transients. The performance of three different pre-processing algorithms applied to the time-domain
signatures obtained using a THz-transient spectrometer are contrasted by evaluating the classifier performance. A range
of amplitudes of zero-mean white Gaussian noise are used to artificially degrade the signal-to-noise ratio of the time-domain
signatures to generate the data sets that are presented to the classifier for both learning and validation purposes.
This gradual degradation of interferograms by increasing the noise level is equivalent to performing measurements
assuming a reduced integration time. Three signal processing algorithms were adopted for the evaluation of the complex
insertion loss function of the samples under study; a) standard evaluation by ratioing the sample with the background
spectra, b) a subspace identification algorithm and c) a novel wavelet-packet identification procedure. Within class and
between class dispersion metrics are adopted for the three data sets. A discrimination metric evaluates how well the three
classes can be distinguished within the frequency range 0.1 - 1.0 THz using the above algorithms.
We analyze the precision of a quasi-optical null-balance bridge reflectometer in measuring waveguide characteristic impedance and attenuation using a one-port de-embedding after taking into account errors due to imperfect coupling of two fundamental Gaussian beam. In order to determine the desired precision, we present in-waveguide measurements of characteristic impedance and attenuation for a WR-8 adjustable precision short in the 75-110 GHz frequency range using a Hewlett-Packard HP 8510 vector network analyzer.
This paper describes a Gauss-Hermite beam-mode analysis of the far-field radiation pattern of a sectoral horn antenna with a tapered slot in its upper broadwall. This type of antenna is suitable for integration with micro-machined rectangular waveguide. Examples having been fabricated for frequencies as high as 1.6 THz. Microwave scale model radiation pattern measurement are presented. A procedure for carrying out a beam-mode analysis from the measured far- field pattern rather than the usual case of a theoretical near-field distribution is described. The beam-mode analysis technique is of general applicability to all types of antenna.
A new technique is reported for micro-machining millimeter and submillimeter-wave rectangular waveguide components using an advanced thick film UV photoresist known as EPONTM SU-8. The recent introduction of this resist has been of great interest to the millimeter-wave and terahertz micro-machining communities, as it is capable of producing features up to 1 mm in height with very high aspect ratios in only a single UV exposure. It therefore represents a possible low-cost alternative to the LIGA process. S-parameter measurements on the new rectangular waveguides show that they achieve lower loss than those produced using other on-chip fabrication techniques, they have highly accurate dimensions, are physically robust, and cheap and easy to manufacture.
The fabrication of air-filled rectangular metal-pipe waveguide using a lithographically-based technique has recently been reported. This type of waveguide, together with other passive components such as antennas, couplers, mixers and filters may offer a realistic route to terahertz frequency integrated circuits in view of the compatibility of the fabrication technique with those of standard semiconductor processing. In this contribution, we report the fabrication of a range of waveguide components for operation at frequencies of up to 300 GHz. These measurements represent the highest frequency characterization study so far reported for a micromachined passive structure of this type and provide proof of TE10 propagation with the expected cut-off frequency. Numerous measurements have been taken using G-band (WR-F) guide which show an attenuation loss of approximately 0.6 dB per guide wavelength at 200 GHz. This low value of attneuation shows that these micromachined waveguide are viable components for use in integrated circuits at terahertz frequencies. The insertion loss repeatability (due to mismatch effects at the ports of the waveguides) has been measured and has been shown to be better than plus or minus 0.5 dB. Preliminary results are presented for J-band (WR-3) waveguide which clearly shows the cut off frequency.
Progress is reported in the development of a new synthesis method for the design of filters and coatings for use in spaceborne infrared optics. This method uses the Golden Section optimization routine to make a search, using designated dielectric thin film combinations, for the coating design which fulfills the required spectral requirements. The final design is that which uses the least number of layers for the given thin film materials in the starting design. This synthesis method has successfully been used to design broadband anti-reflection coatings on infrared substrates. The 6 micrometers to 18 micrometers anti-reflection coating for the germanium optics of the HIRDLS instrument, to be flown on the NASA EOS-Chem satellite, is given as an example. By correctly defining the target function to describe any specific type of filter in the optimization part of the method, this synthesis method may be used to design general filters for use in spaceborne infrared optics.
A synthesis method is outlined for the design of broadband antireflection coatings for use in spaceborne infrared optics. The Golden Section optimization routine is used to make a search, using designated non-absorptive dielectric thin film combinations, for the coating design which fulfills the required spectral requirements using the least number of layers and different materials. Three examples are given of coatings designed by this method: (i) 1 micrometers to 12 micrometers antireflection coating on Zinc Sulphide using Zinc Sulphide and Yttrium Fluoride thin film materials. (ii) 2 micrometers to 14 micrometers antireflection coating on Germanium using Germanium and Yttrium Fluoride thin film materials. (iii) 6 micrometers to 17 micrometers antireflection coating on Germanium using Lead Telluride, Zinc Selenide and Barium Fluoride. The measured spectral performance of the manufactured 6 micrometers to 17 micrometers coating on Germanium is given. This is the antireflection coating for the Germanium optics in the NASA Cassini Orbiter CIRS instrument.
There is currently much interest in the development of satellite-borne millimetre and submillirnetre-wave radiometersfor meteorological and remote sensing applications. Such radiometers typically operate over a number of frequencybands even though they usually only have a single receiving antenna and hence a single incoming beam. Consequentlyit is necessary to have components that demultiplex the frequency bands. This demultiplexing is usually carried outquasi-optically to take advantage of both the wide bandwidths and low losses afforded by such techniques.
Some notable spectroscopic and radiometric investigations have been made recently using Fourier
Transform Spectrometric (FTS) techniques down to frequencies as low as 1 cm', 30 Gllz, overlap the
microwave range. There are also important applications of such techniques in the development and
proving of components for use in millimetre-wave and terahertz communications systems (for this reason
FTS is best interpreted as Fourier Transform Spectrometry, rather than Spectroscopy). Our purpose here
is to illustrate the special design and operational considerations that arise for FTS at these extreme low
frequencies.
Measurements of the dielectric and optical properties of materials (complex refractive indices, dielectric constants, magneto and electro-optic coefficients etc.) over wide ranges of frequency above 300 GHz are made by Fourier transform spectrometry and dispersive Fourier transform spectrometry. These techniques utilise mercury arc lamps as broadband noise sources with noise temperatures of about 2000 K. For frequencies below 300 GHz the spectrometric methods are still applicable but the power available from mercury arc lamps is very low (< 2000 K) and below about 100 GHz spectrometric measurements require long integration times to reach acceptable signal-to-noise ratios.
Waveguide mounted noise diodes are used for power calibration of microwave systems at frequencies below 60 GHz. They have fairly high noise temperatures but are limited in frequency coverage to a single waveguide band.
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