Near-field terahertz electro-optical imaging based on a polarization image sensor

Abstract This paper presents a hyperspectral microscopy system that offers two-dimensional (2D) measurement of the spectral phase and amplitude information of terahertz (THz) radiation without the need for raster scanning. To achieve this, a new THz imaging method is introduced, wherein the distribution of the THz electric field is spatially measured using the electro-optic effect with a commercial polarization image sensor. This method enables the direct measurement of polarization components, eliminating the need for the polarization optics usually required in conventional electro-optical imaging. The performance of this imaging method is compared with a conventional 2D imaging system based on a standard visible camera. Finally, the sub-wavelength resolution capabilities of this new sensor are demonstrated by imaging a sample in the near field.