Automation of Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy System
An Oral Presentation at Annual Research Conference
Moldir Baimurat and Dr. Myoung-Hwan Kim
Abstract
Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic radiation is located between microwave and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Short pulses of THz light are widely used in time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) and imaging system. Terahertz radiation enables to advance DNA research in single molecule level and material science research in observing charge carrier dynamics, and especially nondestructive testing in the industry and medical diagnostic applications. The purpose of this research project is the development of a control system for time-domain spectroscopy, because THz-TDS requires many automated controls in data acquisition and delay line. The first stage is to develop the program for control of time delay of near-infrared pulses using motorized linear translation stage using visual programming language, National Instruments LabView. The next step is collection of the terahertz signal probed by a lock-in amplifier and the balanced photodetector system. The time domain terahertz spectrum can be transformed into the frequency domain THz spectrum using Fourier transformation. This research will help to build automated THz-TDS system in the research laboratory for metasurfaces and material sciences in the THz spectral regime.