Analysis of highly directive photoconductive dipole antenna at terahertz frequency for sensing and imaging applications

In this paper, we have analyzed a photoconductive dipole antenna at terahertz (THz) frequency for sensing and imaging applications. For these applications, to detect powdered explosives, there is a need to have an image of the object under detection with high resolution to distinguish suspicious items from the normal background. The THz antenna is one of the most important components in a THz sensing and imaging system and there is a need to have such a transmitting THz source with high directivity and optimum radiation efficiency. Therefore, to achieve this, we have explored three photoconductive dipole antenna configurations to enhance the directivity and radiation efficiency. With the use of a simple dipole antenna and silicon lens, we are able to achieve the directivity of 10.7dBi and radiation efficiency of 91.59% in both E-plane and H-plane.