Terahertz 3D Imaging with a 300-GHz CMOS Multi-Chip Array Detector

A 300-GHz 4×4 multi-chip detector array based on a 65-nm CMOS technology has been developed and successfully applied to 3D terahertz imaging. The detector array with a modular assembly consists of 16 single-chip detector arrays in 4×4 format, each single chip including 7×7 unit pixels. The resultant large pixel count of 971 (including the virtual pixels) with the multi-chip array allows single-shot 2D images without raster scan, enabling a rapid 3D terahertz imaging with a significantly reduced acquisition time. In this work, 3D images of a metallic bolt were successfully acquired at 300 GHz with the image setup that employs the developed multi-chip array as the detector.