Responsivity Calibration of Pyroelectric Terahertz Detectors

There has been a significant advancement in terahertz radiation sources in the past decade, making milliwatt terahertz power levels accessible in both continuous-wave and pulsed operation. Such high-power terahertz radiation sources circumvent the need for cryogenic-cooled terahertz detectors such as semiconductor bolometers and necessitate the need for new types of calibrated, room-temperature terahertz detectors. Among various types of room-temperature terahertz detectors, pyroelectric detectors are one of the most widely used detectors, which can offer wide dynamic range, broad detection bandwidth, and high sensitivity levels. In this article, we describe the calibration process of a commercially available pyroelectric detector (Spectrum Detector, Inc, SPI-A-65 THz), which incorporates a 5 mm diameter LiTaO3 detector with an organic terahertz absorber coating.