Abstract:Non-destructive testing is an important technique for detecting defects in multi-layer materials, enabling the evaluation of structural integrity without causing damage on test materials. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) offers unique capabilities for this purpose due to its sensitivity and resolution. Inspired by room geometry estimation methods in acoustic signal processing, this work proposes a novel approach for defect detection in multi-layer composite materials using THz-TDS, enhanced by high-power sources. The proposed method utilizes Euclidean distance matrices to reduce problem complexity compared to state-of-the-art approaches, and effectively distinguishes and maps higher-order reflections from sublayers, enabling precise defect localization in composite materials without artifacts.
Abstract:The terahertz (THz) band is a promising solution to the increasing data traffic demands of future wireless networks. However, developing transceivers for THz communication is a complex and toilsome task due to the difficulty in designing devices that operate at this frequency and the impact of hardware impairments on performance. This paper investigates the impact of radio frequency (RF) impairment, in-phase/quadrature imbalance (IQI). To this end, we express an IQI model for the THzspecific array-of-subarrays (AoSA) architecture considering the unique features of THz communication; vast bandwidth, severe power drawdown, and pencil-like beams. We further model the impact of IQI in the power limited regime in order to investigate the power and ultra-wideband trade-off. To achieve this, we express the spectral efficiency in terms of wideband slope and bit energy to noise ratio which are the two important information theoretic metrics that reveals the performance of the ultrawideband systems as in THz communication. Our results show that THz systems with IQI have a strict limit in achievable rate although they provide immense spectrum. We also demonstrate with our simulation results that compared to low frequencies, IQI is a more serious concern in THz links.