The device designated superheterodyne submillimeter-wave thermal viewer produces an object's image in the boundary electromagnetic wave band - the band of the longest infrared waves and the shortest radio waves. The essence of the technical innovation is that waves of this band are still thermal but already capable of penetrating obstacles non-transparent for regular IR-waves, says Khimya I Zhizn (Chemistry and Life) magazine.
In order to design the device, a special gadget was invented. Special flat layers accommodating electron gas in the sealed space between other layers were cut in semi-conductive materials based on gallium arsenide by means of photolithography. These electron interlayers jointly with flat antennas shaped at the same place provide for receiving electromagnetic waves of the required band and transforming them into a regular electric signal and subsequently into an image.
The method's advantage is that the viewed object can be examined without exerting any influence on it, that is in a passive mode. The new thermal viewer can be used in rescue equipment, security systems and medical diagnostics.
