Amplitude Calibration in Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy Using Attenuation Standards

An amplitude calibration method for a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system (THz-TDS) is proposed and demonstrated for transmittance measurement. The method is based on a direct comparison method using a terahertz attenuator as a reference standard. The measurement uncertainties of the THz-TDS are evaluated in transmittance measurements of metalized film attenuators as test samples. The relative expanded uncertainty is found to be 6.4–14.0% ( k = 2) at 1 THz for transmittances ranging from 1 to 0.001. In addition, the calibration capability is extended to the available frequency range of the THz-TDS by considering spectral flatness of the reference standard. Validations of the method are also conducted by comparing the measurements between different systems, and it is confirmed that they agree well with each other.