Detectors & Imaging

Coherent secures patent for terahertz imaging technology

March 12, 2012

Alexandria, VA--The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has assigned Coherent, patent No. 8,129,684, for "detection of hidden objects by terahertz heterodyne laser imaging." The patent was developed by Eric Mueller, at Coherent-DEOS in Bloomfield, CT.

Conard Holton

Alexandria, VA--The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has assigned Coherent (NASDAQ: CHOR; Santa Clara, CA), patent No. 8,129,684, for "detection of hidden objects by terahertz heterodyne laser imaging." The patent was developed by Eric Mueller, at Coherent-DEOS in Bloomfield, CT.

The patent abstract states: "A THz-frequency heterodyne imaging method is used to remotely detect objects concealed in or under a person's clothing. One THz-frequency beam is scanned over a person being examined. A portion of the beam penetrates the persons clothing and is reflected by an object concealed under the person's clothing. The reflected portion the beam is mixed with another beam of THz-frequency radiation having a different frequency to provide a signal having an intermediate frequency (IF) including image data representative of the concealed object."

The full-text of the patent can be found here.

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.