Advances in infrared (IR) detector technologies over the last decade have led to compact low-cost thermal imaging systems that have become almost ubiquitous. They are now used in such market applications as automotive, security and construction. Terahertz (THz) imagers can take advantage of the state-of-the-art in the infrared domain to reduce their size and cost. Such an example is the IRXCAM-THz-384 Terahertz camera whose electronics core is based on the IRXCAM camera core and whose detector has been specifically designed and optimized for the THz. The 384 x 288 35- micron-sized pixel detectors of both cameras are uncooled microbolometers. A micro-electronics core is currently being developed for both platforms that will yield ultra-compact IR and THz cameras.

While IR systems are passive and thus do not require an illumination source, the THz system does. Thus, the THz source must be included when talking about overall imaging system size and cost. There are a wide variety of THz sources, from quantum cascade lasers on the optical side of the radiation spectrum to different types of diodes on the electromagnetic micro-wave side. When considering a source for a given application, the output wavelength, output power, size, weight and cost are primary factors that must be taken into account.

This paper presents a description of a compact real-time imaging system at 750 μm wavelength. An overview of the motivation for the wavelength choice is discussed, a description of the imaging components is given and finally image results are presented.