Terahertz Imaging Chip Can See Through Snow, Sleet, Steam, Smoke, and Even Cardboard Boxes
Emitting terahertz radiation and watching for the reflections, this low-resolution imager works in almost any condition.
A team from the University of Texas at Dallas and Oklahoma State University has developed a microchip that, they say, can detect objects and capture images in almost any condition — seeing straight through smoke, dust, fog, and even snow.
"The technology allows you to see in vision-impaired environments," explains Kenneth K. O, professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-author of the paper. "In industrial settings, for example, devices using the microchips could help with packaging inspections for manufacturing process control, monitoring moisture content or seeing through steam. If you are a firefighter, it could help you see through smoke and fire."
The imaging chip works by emitting terahertz radiation, at a frequency of 430 GHz, from pixels roughly the size of a grain of sand. The beams bounce back from objects and return to the imager, creating a low-resolution picture — even if the object is obscured by environmental conditions or thin layers of cardboard and other materials.
"This imaging technology consumes more than 100 times less power than the phased arrays currently being investigated for the same imaging applications," O claims. "This and the use of CMOS [manufacturing technology] make consumer applications of this technology possible."
The present prototypes offer imaging out to a distance of 20 meters (around 66 feet) without the need for external lenses. Its resolution is significantly lower than a traditional visible-light camera, but its ability to see through conditions, which would preclude most imaging techniques mean it could prove extremely useful in a range of fields — including, its creators say, pedestrian and vehicle detection in autonomous vehicles.
A paper detailing the work, A 430GHz CMOS Concurrent Transceiver Pixel Array for High Angular Resolution Reflection-Mode Active Imaging, was presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC '22) this week, but has not yet been made public.
More information is available on the University of Texas at Dallas website.