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Sensitive Near-Field Slit Probe with High  Spatial Resolution for Passive Millimeter-Wave Microscopy

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Abstract

A novel type of near-field slit probe with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution is proposed. We tested the implementation of this in passive millimeter-wave microscopy at frequencies around 50 GHz. The slit probe comprises a standard rectangular waveguide incorporating a triple-screw tuner penetrating into the waveguide, followed by a four-section quarter-wave transformer, and a metal-coated silicon chip with a micro-slit aperture fabricated at the probe tip using a bulk micromachining technique. The probe allows the transmission of the thermal radiation collected at the probe aperture to the radiometric receiver used in passive millimeter-wave microscopy to be maximized, resulting in highly sensitive measurements. The system noise temperature of the radiometric receiver including the slit probe used in the passive measurements was found to be 1800 K, meaning that a temperature resolution of 0.18 K with the integration time set to 1 s was achieved. This system noise temperature is four times better than that when a tapered slit probe with no tuning circuit was used. Image acquisition with a spatial resolution of better than 100 μm was demonstrated over the temperature range from 210 to 310 K.

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Data Availability

The data and material that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 18H01450.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama, 930-8555, Japan

    Manabu Ishino, Shun-ichi Nakamura & Tatsuo Nozokido

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  1. Manabu Ishino
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  2. Shun-ichi Nakamura
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  3. Tatsuo Nozokido
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Correspondence to Tatsuo Nozokido.

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Ishino, M., Nakamura, Si. & Nozokido, T. Sensitive Near-Field Slit Probe with High  Spatial Resolution for Passive Millimeter-Wave Microscopy. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 42, 416–425 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-021-00777-8

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