Dual band THz-IR detector for radio-astronomy applications

Dual band THz-IR receivers can be used in application within different fields. For instance, in radio-astronomy, dust emission in the infrared (IR) and submillimeter wave or THz ranges is used for star-formation characterization. This information is normally acquired by different detectors which operate at each of these frequencies; i.e. Terahertz and Infrared. The development of an integrated dual band detector operating at both frequency ranges will be described in this paper. The proposed configuration implements a spiral antenna working at sub-millimeter wave frequencies, which is used as Fresnel lens to focus the IR power (12 μm) into an IR detector. Other applications such security can also benefit from this kind of systems.