A waveguide high-pass filter system for measuring the spectrum of pulsed terahertz sources

•We propose a system for measuring spectra of terahertz (THz) pulses.•This system utilizes iterative method and a new amplitude–frequency method.•System can be implemented in measurements of single THz pulses.•Waveguide high-pass filters (HPFs) with cutoff frequencies about 0.7THz are developed. We propose a system for measuring spectra of terahertz (THz) pulses, including single pulses, which is based on high-pass filters (HPFs). The system consists of channels for measuring amplitudes of pulses (initial pulses and those transmitted via HPFs with different cutoff frequencies) and an algorithm for processing of the obtained data. The pulse spectrum is restored by using the iteration method or the amplitude–frequency method. The iteration method of spectrum restoration is applicable in the range of THz pulse durations from 10−9s to 10−7s. The amplitude–frequency method is applicable to THz pulses with durations exceeding 10−8s. The system for measuring of THz pulse spectra was simulated by using the characteristics of specially developed waveguide HPFs. The relative simulation error of determining the central frequency by the amplitude–frequency method is equal to 2·10−6 for THz pulse durations of 10−5s and longer.