Terahertz (THz) Interferometry for Bearing Angle Measurement

John Scott Parker

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper describes a new method for making angle of arrival measurements in the terahertz (THz) frequency domain. Preliminary work towards a novel device is presented. The proposed device uses a movable diffraction grating to mimic phased antenna arrays used at radio frequencies (RF). Phased arrays are not practical with current THz equipment because of the cost and relative infancy of the technology. The THz interferometer device proposed in this paper sweeps a diffraction grating in front of a single detector. The pattern of measurements can then be used to estimate the signal’s angle of arrival. Two different configurations are compared: a single-slit diffraction grating is used to mimic rotating antenna and radar systems, and a double-slit diffraction grating is used to mimic phased arrays. Because the double-slit pattern has multiple peaks, a wide field of view can be achieved with a short grating sweep. This minimizes the time spent scanning dead space, allowing continuous or near continuous tracking of multiple transmitters distributed over a wide field of view for position estimation and communications. To the author’s knowledge, this novel device is the first to use a movable diffraction grating to make angle of arrival measurements in the THz range.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 29th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2016) September 12 - 16, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon
Pages:	757 - 769
Cite this article:	Parker, John Scott, "Terahertz (THz) Interferometry for Bearing Angle Measurement," Proceedings of the 29th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2016), Portland, Oregon, September 2016, pp. 757-769. https://doi.org/10.33012/2016.14612
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