A reflective pulsed terahertz imaging system based on direct detection was developed and used to obtain high-resolution images of a porcine skin specimen with superficial partial-thickness (second-degree) burns. Images were also obtained of the sample through ten layers of dry medical (cotton) gauze with minimal image degradation. The burned and unburned regions of skin had large differences in terahertz reflectivity, displaying clear delineation [20 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) difference signal] between both regions in the images. The terahertz images also exhibited a "halo" surrounding the burn areas that may correlate to the extent of burn injury. The system operated at a center frequency of 500 GHz with 125 GHz of 3 dB bandwidth and used whiskbroom scanning to generate images with a spatial resolution of 1.5 mm. Each pixel was acquired with a 16 ms integration time, resulting in a 40 dB postdetection SNR. The simplicity and high SNR of the reflective terahertz system are promising steps toward real-time terahertz medical imaging.
Abstract. Asteroids and comets that cross Earth's orbit pose a credible risk of impact, with potentially severe disturbances to Earth and society. We propose an orbital planetary defense system capable of heating the surface of potentially hazardous objects to the vaporization point as a feasible approach to impact risk mitigation. We call the system DE-STAR, for Directed Energy System for Targeting of Asteroids and exploRation. The DE-STAR is a modular-phased array of kilowatt class lasers powered by photovoltaic's. Modular design allows for incremental development, minimizing risk, and allowing for technological codevelopment. An orbiting structure would be developed in stages. The main objective of the DE-STAR is to use focused directed energy to raise the surface spot temperature to ∼3000 K, sufficient to vaporize all known substances. Ejection of evaporated material creates a large reaction force that would alter an asteroid's orbit. The baseline system is a DE-STAR 3 or 4 (1-to 10-km array) depending on the degree of protection desired. A DE-STAR 4 allows initial engagement beyond 1 AU with a spot temperature sufficient to completely evaporate up to 500-m diameter asteroids in 1 year. Small objects can be diverted with a DE-STAR 2 (100 m) while space debris is vaporized with a DE-STAR 1 (10 m).
In this Letter, we demonstrate a new class of infrared nanophotonic materials based on monolithic, multilayered doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films, where each CdO layer is individually tuned to support a separate epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) resonance. Infrared reflectivity measurements reveal that the optical response of the multilayered stack combines multiple discrete absorption events, each associated with an individual ENZ plasmonic polaritonic mode. Structural and chemical characterization confirm that the multilayers are homoepitaxial and monolithic, with internal interfaces defined by discrete steps in dopant density and carrier concentration. Structurally, the layers are indistinguishable as they differ from their neighbors by only ∼1 in 10000 constituent atoms. The optoelectronic property contrast, however, is pronounced, as each layer maintains an independent electron concentration, as corroborated by secondary ion mass spectroscopy and numerical solutions to Poisson’s equation. It is this electron confinement that imbues each individual layer with the ability to independently resonate at separate mid-infrared frequencies. We additionally demonstrate simultaneous thermal emission of infrared light from each individual layer at its respective ENZ frequency, pursuant to Kirchhoff’s law of radiation. The highly localized property contrast intrinsic to these monoliths offers great potential in nanophotonics, plasmonics, and physics thanks to the ability to engineer infrared response and achieve metamaterial-like optical properties without the need for lithography or micro/nanofabrication. New possibilities arising from this work include strongly tunable and multimodal perfect absorbers as well as spectrally engineered and narrow-band light emitters.
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