Open AccessElectromagnetic behavior of spatial terahertz wave modulators based on reconfigurable micromirror gratings in Littrow configuration
Author(s) -
Jan Kappa,
Klemens M. Schmitt,
Marco Rahm
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.020850
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , optics , grating , aperture (computer memory) , modulation (music) , spatial frequency , digital micromirror device , terahertz spectroscopy and technology , optical modulator , physics , materials science , optoelectronics , phase modulation , acoustics , phase noise
Efficient, high speed spatial modulators with predictable performance are a key element in any coded aperture terahertz imaging system. For spectroscopy, the modulators must also provide a broad modulation frequency range. In this study, we numerically analyze the electromagnetic behavior of a dynamically reconfigurable spatial terahertz wave modulator based on a micromirror grating in Littrow configuration. We show that such a modulator can modulate terahertz radiation over a wide frequency range from 1.7 THz to beyond 3 THz at a modulation depth of more than 0.6. As a specific example, we numerically simulated coded aperture imaging of an object with binary transmissive properties and successfully reconstructed the image.