JP2013032933A - Homodyne detection-type electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve measurement time and measurement accuracy of an electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system employing a homodyne detection system in order to achieve downsizing thereof.SOLUTION: Instead of a delay line having a mechanical drive mechanism, an optical phase modulator 4 that can be phase-modulated electrically is used.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for measuring a transmission or reflection spectrum of millimeter waves and terahertz waves with respect to an object to be measured.

  It is known that millimeter waves and terahertz waves in a frequency band of 100 GHz to 10 THz are easy to transmit through an object like radio waves, and cause strong interaction with molecules constituting many substances in the natural world.

  Molecules have unique spectral patterns in the milli-terahertz frequency band (so-called terahertz fingerprint spectrum), so the molecules affected by millimeter waves and terahertz waves are identified by using the spectral information in that frequency band. be able to.

  Because of these characteristics, an electromagnetic spectrum measurement system that measures objects using millimeter waves and terahertz waves and an imaging system that converts the measurement results from the system into images have been developed. It is applied in various practical fields such as fields, substance inspection techniques, and image processing techniques such as diagnostic results.

  In general, terahertz wave spectroscopy uses an ultrashort pulse laser source because the optical spectrum is very wide up to several THz, and so far, many time domain spectroscopy (TDS) systems have been demonstrated. Has been successfully applied to various research fields (see Non-Patent Document 1).

  However, in such a system, the emission energy of the pulsed THz signal is distributed over a wide band, so the energy spectral density is very low, and the spectral resolution is limited by the length of time of the Fourier transform (usually in the GHz range). It will be.

  Therefore, a method of increasing the energy spectral density by using a continuous wave (CW) signal output from the light source is employed. Such an electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system using a continuous wave optical signal is mainly composed of a signal generator that enables synchronization and fine frequency adjustment in a wide band, and a signal detector with high detection sensitivity and very fast response time. ing.

  In the past few years, several reports on the electromagnetic spectrum measurement system having the above characteristics and its imaging system have been submitted (see Non-Patent Documents 2 and 3). Many of these reports include components of the electromagnetic spectrum measurement system. As a signal detector, a Schottky barrier diode detector or a direct detector with a bolometer is employed for the simple reason that it is easy to use.

  However, such signal detectors can only measure signal strength, and can measure the phase information necessary to provide important additional data (such as dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent) for the object being measured. Can not. In particular, when a direct detector is used, the sensitivity is generally very low and a long signal integration time is required.

  Accordingly, it is conceivable to employ a heterodyne detection method for the electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system. In the heterodyne detection method, not only signal intensity but also phase information can be detected, so that measurement sensitivity can be improved.

  However, since the Herodyne detection method requires radiation of different frequency signals, other signal generators (local oscillators) are required in addition to the main signal generator that generates the frequency with high accuracy.

  As described above, the conventional electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system adopts the homodyne detection method in consideration of both the complexity and performance of the system. The reason is that, in addition to a single signal generator, by providing phase information to the signal detector, high sensitivity can be obtained as in the heterodyne detection method.

"Terahertz wave industry", CMC Publishing Co., Ltd., published on January 24, 2011, first edition, p.238-247 I.S.Gregory, 7 others, "Continuous-wave teraherts system with a 60 dB dynamic range", APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 86,204104 (2005), American Institute of Physics, 2005 G.MOURET, 8 others, “THz media characterization by measn of coherent homodyne detection, results and potential applicaitons”, Applied Physics B 89, 2007, p.395-399

  Here, in order to adopt the homodyne detection method for the electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system described above, in order to perform heterodyne detection, a delay line that extends the optical path by an electric mirror and delays the reference signal is provided with a light source and a detector. It was necessary to insert in the optical path between (refer FIG. 8, nonpatent literature 2).

  Here, in order to obtain the phase information of the signal, the electric mirror is driven by the control signal to adjust the delay amount of the reference signal, and the interference waveform (interferogram) in the time domain is measured to measure It is necessary to change the phase relationship between the THz beam that has passed through the object and the excitation beam excited by the detector based on the reference signal. However, measurement accuracy is affected by mechanical factors such as an electric mirror. There is a problem that the driving time of the electric mirror is slow and the measurement time cannot be increased.

  In addition, in the homodyne detection method, in order to further improve the sensitivity of the system by reading a direct current (DC) signal, the intensity of the THz beam is modulated and the signal amplitude becomes half of the signal intensity. There is also a problem that the signal-to-noise ratio is degraded by about 3 dB.

  That is, in the conventional electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system employing the homodyne detection method, mechanical means such as an electric mirror is used as a delay means for delaying the reference signal to the detector, so that the measurement time and measurement accuracy are sufficient. In addition, there was a problem that it was difficult to reduce the size of the system itself.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to improve measurement time and measurement accuracy and to reduce the size.

  The homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 1 is a first photo for generating a first electromagnetic wave of millimeter wave or terahertz wave by photoelectrically converting an optical signal obtained by combining two continuous light waves having different frequencies. A mixer, an optical phase modulator that electrically modulates the phase of one continuous light wave by a control signal, and a continuous light wave that is phase-modulated by the optical phase modulator and the other continuous light wave that is not phase-modulated are combined. A second photomixer that photoelectrically converts the received optical signal to generate a second electromagnetic wave of millimeter wave or terahertz wave, and the first electromagnetic wave that is transmitted or reflected by the measurement object; A mixer that receives the second electromagnetic wave that is not transmitted or reflected from the object and performs homodyne mixing.

  According to the present invention, since the optical phase modulator capable of electrical phase modulation is used instead of the delay line having a mechanical drive mechanism, the measurement time and measurement accuracy can be improved and the size can be reduced. .

  The homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 2 is the homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the other continuous light wave in the second photomixer is controlled by a control signal having a phase opposite to that of the control signal. It further has an optical phase modulator that electrically modulates the phase of.

  According to the present invention, since the optical phase modulator that electrically modulates the phase of the other continuous light wave in the second photomixer by the control signal having the phase opposite to that of the control signal is provided, the phase modulation can be performed efficiently.

  The homodyne detection type electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 3 is the homodyne detection type electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a multiplexing means for multiplexing the first electromagnetic wave and the second electromagnetic wave. Furthermore, it is characterized by having.

  The homodyne detection type electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 4 is the homodyne detection type electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first electromagnetic wave transmitted or reflected by the object to be measured is transmitted. The lens further includes a condensing lens and a lens for condensing the second electromagnetic wave, and the first lens condensed by the two lenses, the second photomixer, and the two lenses, respectively. The mixer that receives the electromagnetic wave and the second electromagnetic wave and performs homodyne mixing is integrated.

  According to the present invention, the lens that collects the first electromagnetic wave that is transmitted or reflected through the object to be measured, the lens that collects the second electromagnetic wave, the second photomixer, and the mixer are integrated. Therefore, the system components can be reduced and further downsizing can be realized.

  The homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system according to claim 5 is the homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein one or both frequencies of the two continuous light waves can be swept. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, since one or both frequencies of two continuous light waves can be swept, phase modulation can be performed more efficiently.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the measurement time and the measurement accuracy and reduce the size.

It is a figure which shows the example of whole structure of a homodyne detection system electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measuring system. It is a figure which shows the example of an output signal with respect to a certain control signal. It is a figure which shows the other example of the whole structure of a homodyne detection system electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measuring system. It is a figure which shows the other example of the whole structure of a homodyne detection system electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measuring system. It is a figure which shows the other example of the whole structure of a homodyne detection system electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measuring system. It is a figure which shows the cross section of a 3rd photomixer. It is a figure which shows the other example of the whole structure of a homodyne detection system electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measuring system. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the conventional homodyne detection system electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measuring system.

  The present invention relates to an optical phase modulator (phase) that can be electrically phase-modulated by a control signal in place of a delay line conventionally used in an electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system (hereinafter referred to as a system) employing a homodyne detection method. The main feature is the use of a modulator. As a result, the measurement time and measurement accuracy regarding the signal intensity and phase information in this system can be improved, and the system itself can be downsized.

  In this system, the phase relationship between the first electromagnetic wave (THZ probe beam) that has passed through the object to be measured and the second electromagnetic wave (excitation beam (THZ LO signal)) that performs electrical homodyne mixing (mixing) is changed. Therefore, the phase information signal can be read at the AC frequency without modulating the intensity of the first electromagnetic wave (THZ beam) irradiated to the measurement object.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different modes and should not be construed as being limited to the description of the present embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a system. The system includes a first continuous wave light source 1a and a second continuous wave light source 1b, a first splitter 2a and a second splitter 2b, a first coupler 3a and a second coupler 3b, an optical phase modulator 4, and a first The photo mixer 5a, the second photo mixer 5b, and the THz mixer 6 are mainly configured.

  The splitter 2, the coupler 3, and the optical phase modulator 4 function as a signal generator 10 for an optical signal required for generating millimeter wave or terahertz wave electromagnetic waves in this system. The first photomixer 5a functions as an emitter that irradiates the measurement object 100 with an electromagnetic wave, and the second photomixer 5b and the THz mixer 6 detect a signal intensity and phase information. Is functioning as Hereinafter, the function of each of these components will be described in detail.

The first continuous wave light source 1a outputs a continuous light wave having a frequency ω ₁ (hereinafter referred to as a first CW light wave), and the second continuous wave light source 1b is a continuous light wave having a frequency ω ₂ different from the frequency ω ₁ (hereinafter referred to as a second CW). A function of outputting a light wave).

  The first splitter 2a has a function of demultiplexing the first CW light wave into two, and the second splitter 2b has a function of demultiplexing the second CW light wave into two.

  The first coupler 3a combines one first CW light wave demultiplexed by the first splitter 2a and one second CW light wave demultiplexed by the second splitter 2b, and the second coupler 3b The other first CW light wave demultiplexed by 2a and the other second CW light wave phase-modulated by the optical phase modulator 4 to be described later are combined.

  The optical phase modulator 4 is disposed on the optical path between the second splitter 2b and the second coupler 3b, and is separated by the second splitter 2b by an external control signal (including a control signal capable of sweeping the phase). It has a function of electrically modulating the phase of the other second CW light wave that has been waved. For example, an optical modulator using an electro-optic crystal (for example, a LiNbO 3 crystal) having a Pockels effect in which the refractive index change is proportional to the applied electric field or an electro-optic effect can be used.

The first photomixer 5a electrically converts the optical signal combined with the first coupler 3a (hereinafter referred to as a THz optical signal), and a millimeter wave or a terahertz wave that matches the frequency difference (| ω ₁ −ω ₂ |). The first electromagnetic wave (hereinafter referred to as THz beam) is generated and irradiated to the object 100 to be measured.

  The second photomixer 5b electrically converts the optical signal combined with the second coupler 3b (hereinafter referred to as THz optical excitation signal), and similarly to the first photomixer 5a, a second electromagnetic wave (hereinafter referred to as millimeter wave or terahertz wave). , Excitation beam or THz LO signal).

  The first photomixer 5a and the second photomixer 5b can be realized by using, for example, a single traveling carrier photodiode (UTC-PD: Uni-Travelling-Carrier Photodiode).

  The THz mixer 6 receives or transmits a THz probe beam having spectral information of the measurement object 100 through the reflection or reflection of the measurement object 100, and also transmits a second photo that does not transmit or reflect the measurement object 100. It has a function of receiving a THz LO signal generated from the mixer 5b and performing homodyne mixing by coupling to a detector or a nonlinear device having a nonlinear voltage / current relationship. Such a detector or the like is provided in the THz mixer 6, and for example, a Schottky barrier diode or the like can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the present system includes a half mirror 7 for combining the THz probe beam and the THz LO signal, and a THz lens 8 for condensing the THz beam on the object 100 to be measured. Is further provided. In addition, the constituent devices from the continuous wave light source 1 to the photomixer 5 are connected by an optical fiber.

Next, the operation of this system will be described. In the present system, a THz beam is generated by intermodulating a first CW light wave having a frequency ω _{1 and} a second CW light wave having a frequency ω ₂ with _one first photomixer 5a using a UTC-PD or the like. Detection is performed by a THz mixer 6 including a non-linear device such as a barrier diode, and an LO signal (local signal) is generated by the other second photomixer 5 b and detected by the THz mixer 6. Details will be described below.

First, the THz optical signal s _e (t) output from the signal generator 10 and the THz beam s _THz (t) generated from the first photomixer 5a can be respectively expressed as follows. . However, in order to optimize the efficiency of the first photomixer 5a, the intensities of the two CW light waves are equal.

A is a constant related to the electric field strength of the two CW light waves. φ ₁ and φ ₂ are the phases of the first CW light wave having the frequency ω ₁ and the _second CW light wave having the frequency ω ₂ , respectively.

Next, the THz probe beam s _THz (t) that arrives at the THz mixer 6 after passing through or reflecting the measurement object 100 is expressed by the following equation.

Note that ω _TH is the frequency of the THz beam and is equal to | ω ₁ −ω ₂ |. A _s (ω _TH ) and φ _s (ω _TH ) are THz spectral characteristics of the measurement object 100 with respect to the intensity and phase at the frequency ω _TH , respectively.

On the other hand, the second photo mixer 5b as LO is driven by THz light excitation signal consists of two CW light wave frequency omega ₁ and the frequency omega ₂ used in the generation of THz beam.

  That is, the laser of the signal generator 10 is used to generate the THz optical excitation signal of the THz LO signal, and one of the CW light waves is phase-modulated by the optical phase modulator 4.

  As a result, it is possible to change the phase relationship between the THz probe beam that has passed through the measurement target 100 and the excitation beam (THZ LO signal) that performs electrical homodyne mixing (mixing).

Therefore, the THz optical excitation signal s _d (t) and the THz LO signal s _THz−LO (t) of the THz LO signal can be expressed by the following equations, respectively.

Note that φ _m (t) is a phase delay caused by the optical phase modulator 4 and is a function of the control signal k (t), and therefore can be expressed by the following equation.

  Here, m is a modulation gain (gain) of the optical phase modulator 4. In the equation (5), the insertion loss of the optical phase modulator 4 is set to zero or compensated by an additional device not shown in FIG.

  Next, the THz probe beam carrying the spectral information of the object 100 to be measured is combined with the THz LO signal by the half mirror 7 and mixed by the THz mixer 6 by being coupled to a detector having a non-linear voltage / current relationship. .

As a result, from the expressions (3) and (5), the output signal s _out (t) from the THz mixer 6 can be expressed by the following expression.

Here, since the user can define the control signal k (t), all other parameters (C ₀ , A, B, m) can be extracted from the calibration process without the object 100 to be measured.

For example, when the control signal is set to a sawtooth wave proportional at a predetermined time interval shown in FIG. 2, the output signal s _out (t) can be expressed as follows.

As can be seen from the above, the output signal is a sine signal. Therefore, spectral information relating to the intensity and phase of the measurement object 100 can be obtained simply by measuring the maximum value and relative phase of the output waveform of the frequency m (V _C / t _C ).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system, the optical phase modulator that can be electrically phase-modulated by the control signal is used. And measurement accuracy can be improved, and the system itself can be miniaturized.

  In addition, since the phase relationship between the THz probe beam that has passed through the measurement object 100 and the excitation beam that performs homodyne mixing (mixing) can be electrically changed, the conventional method using a mechanical delay line can be used. It can be said that it is excellent in measurement speed and system reliability.

  In addition, this system does not require signal modulation of the probe beam, detector bias, or excitation beam for homodyne mixing (mixing), so a simpler and more appropriate signal-to-noise ratio system is constructed. be able to.

  The basic principle described above can also be realized by using other configurations and apparatuses as shown in FIGS.

  In the configuration of FIG. 3, the first optical phase modulator 4 a that can be electrically phase-modulated by the control signal that is opposite in phase to the control signal for the second optical phase modulator 4 b corresponding to the optical phase modulator 4 is the first. It arrange | positions on the optical path between the splitter 2a and the 2nd coupler 3b. For example, by using an electric phase shifter and two in-phase modulators, a push-pull operation that performs more efficient phase modulation can be realized.

  The configurations of FIGS. 4 and 5 are different versions of the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, respectively, replacing the THz detector with a different type of detector. That is, a kind of photomixer (hereinafter, third photomixer 5c) in which both functions of the second photomixer 5b and the THz mixer 6 are integrated is used.

  FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the third photomixer 5c. A THz mixer 6 configured with an SBD (Schottky barrier diode) with an antenna, a second photomixer 5b configured with an UTC-PD with an antenna, and an optical fiber 11 are mounted in the same package 20.

  In the package 20, wiring pins 31 for applying bias and reading signals are appropriately arranged. The THz beam from the outside is condensed on the THz mixer (THz detector) 6 by the silicon lens 21, and the THz beam generated by the internal second photomixer (THz generator) 5 b is similarly obtained by the silicon lens 22 by the THz mixer 6 The light is condensed or collimated to mix. The optical fiber 11, the THz mixer 6 and the second photomixer 5b are arranged on the same axis.

  In manufacturing, the THz mixer 6 and the second photomixer 5b may be manufactured in separate packages 20a and 20b, and their characteristics may be evaluated, and then bonded at a fixed point by a known method.

  The third photomixer 5c used as a THz detector in such a configuration can be excited with a THz light excitation signal and perform homodyne mixing as it is. As a result, it is possible to reduce devices and parts such as a beam splitter, and to further reduce the size of the entire system.

  The configuration of FIG. 7 is the THz for irradiating the object 100 to be measured by sweeping the frequencies of the first continuous wave light source 1a and the second continuous wave light source 1b by the external control device 50 in the configuration of FIG. This is an example in which the first photomixer 5a for generating a beam is unnecessary.

In this configuration example, an arbitrary broadband THz signal source 51 is used. When the intensity A _signal and the phase φ _{signal of the} THz signal source 51 are known, the THz beam arriving at the detector side at a certain frequency ω can be expressed in the same manner as in Expression (3). However, A2 of Formula (3) is intensity _| strength _Asignal , (phi) _{1- (} phi) ² of the same formula is phase (phi) _signal .

Further, the frequency ω _TH (= | ω ₁ −ω ₂ |) in the equation (5) can be changed by changing the frequency of one or both of the two CW light waves of the frequency ω ₁ and the frequency ω _2. . The THz probe beam carrying the spectral information of the object 100 to be measured is combined by the half mirror 7 together with the THz LO signal, and mixed by combining with a detector having a non-linear voltage / current relationship. If known, it is possible to obtain the THz spectral characteristics of the measurement object 100 relating to the intensity and phase at an arbitrary frequency. In addition, if it is set as the structure except a sample, the intensity | strength of an unknown signal source and the frequency characteristic of a phase can also be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a ... 1st continuous wave light source 1b ... 2nd continuous wave light source 2a ... 1st splitter 2b ... 2nd splitter 3a ... 1st coupler 3b ... 2nd coupler 4 ... Optical phase modulator 4a ... 1st phase modulator 4b ... 1st 2 phase modulator 5a ... 1st photomixer 5b ... 2nd photomixer 5c ... 3rd photomixer 6 ... THz mixer 7 ... half mirror 8 ... THz lens 10 ... signal generator 11 ... optical fiber 20, 20a, 20b ... package DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21, 22 ... Silicon lens 31 ... Wiring pin 50 ... External control device 51 ... THz signal source 100 ... Object to be measured

Claims (5)

A first photomixer that photoelectrically converts an optical signal obtained by combining two continuous light waves having different frequencies to generate a first electromagnetic wave of a millimeter wave or a terahertz wave;
An optical phase modulator that electrically modulates the phase of one continuous light wave with a control signal;
A second electromagnetic wave that generates a second millimeter wave or terahertz wave by photoelectrically converting an optical signal obtained by combining the continuous light wave phase-modulated by the optical phase modulator and the other continuous light wave that is not phase-modulated; Photo mixer
A mixer that receives the first electromagnetic wave transmitted or reflected through the object to be measured, receives the second electromagnetic wave not transmitted or reflected through the object to be measured, and performs homodyne mixing;
A homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system characterized by comprising:   The homodyne detection system according to claim 1, further comprising an optical phase modulator that electrically modulates the phase of the other continuous light wave in the second photomixer by a control signal having a phase opposite to that of the control signal. Electromagnetic spectrum measurement system.   The homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopic measurement system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising multiplexing means for multiplexing the first electromagnetic wave and the second electromagnetic wave. A lens that condenses the first electromagnetic wave transmitted or reflected from the object to be measured; and a lens that condenses the second electromagnetic wave;
The two lenses, the second photomixer, and the mixer that receives and homodyne-mixes the first electromagnetic wave and the second electromagnetic wave respectively collected by the two lenses are integrated. The homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The homodyne detection electromagnetic wave spectroscopy measurement system according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the two continuous light waves can be swept.

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