Demonstration of a terahertz multi-spectral 3×3 Mueller matrix polarimetry system for 2D and 3D imaging.

Mueller matrix polarimetry (MMP) has been demonstrated and recognized as an effective approach to attaining imaging enhancement as well as revealing polarization properties of an imaged sample. Generally, a minimum of 16 combinations of intensity-only measurements involving both linear and circular polarizations are required to completely and accurately determine the 4 × 4 Mueller matrix (MM) and comprehensively describe the polarization properties of the sample. However, broadband circular polarizations (CP) are rather difficult to obtain for design and fabrication limitations in the terahertz region, which poses a challenge to the acquisition of the 4 × 4 MM. In this circumstance, the 3 × 3 MM degradation using only linear polarizations (LP) is preferred and sufficient for characterization of non-depolarizing samples. In this paper, a multi-spectral 3 × 3 MMP system based on the THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is established from 0.1 to 1 THz. The system demonstrated is capable of fulfilling the accurate determination of the 3 × 3 MM. The Mueller matrix polar decomposition (MMPD), modified to be compatible with the MM degradation, is employed to explore the fine details and properties of the sample. By signal post-processing techniques, the MM elements in the time domain are retrieved, and the time dimension reflecting the depth information facilitates the 3D reconstruction of the sample. This work provides a prototype for 3D imaging of biological samples at higher frequencies in the future.

Electromagnetic Fields Due to the Wake of a Moving Slender Body in a Finite-Depth Ocean with Density Stratification.

Weak electric currents are induced in moving seawater by cutting the geomagnetic fields. These electric currents can produce measurable electromagnetic fields that may be used for some purposes such as monitoring of ocean internal waves. This article is aimed at presenting the procedure to calculate the electromagnetic fields owing to the wake raised by an undersea moving slender body. A pair of Havelock point sources are introduced to model the moving body, which generate the similar wake at places far from the body. The ocean is taken to be of finite-depth with density stratification due to thermocline. Three distinct forms of water-flow wake can be identified, the free-surface Kelvin wake, the internal interfacial wake, and the localized volume wake. The electric currents evoked by the motional wake may produce observable electromagnetic fields, which may be solved using rigorous electromagnetic field theory. At the sea level, the magnitudes of the induced electric field and magnetic field are on the order of a few microvolts per meter and one nano-Tesla, respectively, which are appreciable in terms of nowadays marine electric and magnetic sensors.