Terahertz 3D point cloud imaging for complex targets

Abstract

The reconstruction of complex targets using terahertz technology is often hindered by diffraction and interference of electromagnetic waves, leading to the loss of fine target details. In this research article, we have introduced a terahertz synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging method that integrates an iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, referred to as SAR-ICP, to achieve accurate reconstruction of intricate target structures. To accomplish this, multiple sets of point cloud data are acquired by varying the illumination viewpoint. The ICP algorithm is then employed to align and fuse these datasets, resulting in the generation of high-quality three-dimensional (3D) images. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed SAR-ICP method. The information entropy of the reconstructed 3D image using the SAR-ICP is approximately 0.05 times that of the conventional SAR method, indicating a superior image quality. In the future, we anticipate the widespread application of this method in areas such as security inspection, non-destructive testing, and other complex scenarios.