In this article a monolithic resonant terahertz sensor element with a noise equivalent power superior to that of typical commercial room temperature single pixel terahertz detectors and capable of close to real time read-out rates is presented. The detector is constructed via the integration of a metamaterial absorber and a micro-bolometer sensor. An absorption magnitude of 57% at 2.5 THz, a minimum NEP of 37 pW/ √ Hz and a thermal time constant of 68 ms for the sensor are measured. As a demonstration of detector capability, it is employed in a practical Nipkow terahertz imaging system. The monolithic resonant terahertz detector is readily scaled to focal plane array formats by adding standard read-out and addressing circuitry enabling compact, low-cost terahertz imaging.

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Multi-spectral imaging systems typically require the cumbersome integration of disparate filtering materials and detectors in order to operate simultaneously in multiple spectral regions. Each distinct waveband must be detected at different spatial locations on a single chip or by separate chips optimised for each band. Here, we report on a single component that optically multiplexes visible, Mid Infrared (4.5 μm) and Terahertz (126 μm) radiation thereby maximising the spectral information density. We hybridise plasmonic and metamaterial structures to form a device capable of simultaneously filtering 15 visible wavelengths and absorbing Mid Infrared and Terahertz. Our synthetic multi-spectral component could be integrated with silicon complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology where Si photodiodes are available to detect the visible radiation and micro-bolometers available to detect the Infrared/Terahertz and render an inexpensive, mass-producible camera capable of forming coaxial visible, Infrared and Terahertz images.