3D transient temperature measurement in homogeneous solid material with THz waves

The first imaging system that is able to measure transient temperature phenomena taking place inside a bulk by 3D tomography is presented. This novel technique combines the power of terahertz waves and the high sensitivity of infrared imaging. The tomography reconstruction is achieved by the 3D motion of the sample at several angular positions followed by inverse Radon transform processing to retrieve the 3D transient temperatures. The aim of this novel volumetric imaging technique is to locate defects within the whole target body as well as to measure the temperature in the whole volume of the target. This new-fashioned thermal tomography will revolutionize the non-invasive monitoring techniques for volume inspection and in-situ properties estimations.