Twenty years of terahertz imaging [Invited]

The birth of terahertz imaging approximately coincides with the birth of the journal Optics Express. The 20 h anniversary of the journal is therefore an opportune moment to consider the state of progress in the field of terahertz imaging. This article discusses some of the compelling reasons that one may wish to form images in the THz range, in order to provide a perspective of how far the field has come since the early demonstrations of the mid-1990's. It then focuses on a few of the more prominent frontiers of current research, highlighting their impacts on both fundamental science and applications.