TY - GEN
T1 - Ultra-broadband wavelength conversion sensor using thermochromic liquid crystals
AU - Chen, Ichun Anderson
AU - Park, S. W.
AU - Chen, G.
AU - Wang, C.
AU - Bethea, C.
AU - Martini, R.
AU - Woolard, D.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Wavelength conversion (WC) imaging is a methodology that employs temperature sensitive detectors to convert photoinduced termperature into a detectable optical signal. One specific method is to use molecular detectors such as thermochromic liquid crystals (TLC), which exhibits thermochromism to observe the surface temperature of an area by observing the apparent color in the visible spectrum. Utilizing this methodology, an ultra-broadband room temperature imaging system was envisioned and realized using off the shelf thermochromic liquid crystals. The thermochromic properties of the sensor were characterized to show a thermochromic coefficient α = 10%/°K and a noise equivalent power (NEP) of 64 μW. With the TLC camera, images of both pulsed and continuous wave (CW) sources spanning 0.6 μm to 150 μm wavelengths were captured to demonstrate its potential as a portable, low-cost, and ultra-broadband imaging tool.
AB - Wavelength conversion (WC) imaging is a methodology that employs temperature sensitive detectors to convert photoinduced termperature into a detectable optical signal. One specific method is to use molecular detectors such as thermochromic liquid crystals (TLC), which exhibits thermochromism to observe the surface temperature of an area by observing the apparent color in the visible spectrum. Utilizing this methodology, an ultra-broadband room temperature imaging system was envisioned and realized using off the shelf thermochromic liquid crystals. The thermochromic properties of the sensor were characterized to show a thermochromic coefficient α = 10%/°K and a noise equivalent power (NEP) of 64 μW. With the TLC camera, images of both pulsed and continuous wave (CW) sources spanning 0.6 μm to 150 μm wavelengths were captured to demonstrate its potential as a portable, low-cost, and ultra-broadband imaging tool.
KW - THz
KW - far-infrared
KW - focal plane array
KW - imaging
KW - pyro-optical detection
KW - thermochromic liquid crystals
KW - wavelength conversion
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U2 - 10.1117/12.2012071
DO - 10.1117/12.2012071
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84878528637
SN - 9780819493934
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications VI
T2 - 2013 Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications VI Conference
Y2 - 5 February 2013 through 7 February 2013
ER -