Patent ID: 8618486

Claim:
A image forming apparatus for visualizing internal information of an object using time-domain spectroscopy, the apparatus comprising: a detection unit configured to detect a terahertz wave from the object; a generating unit configured to generate a time waveform of the terahertz wave from an output of the detection unit; a modulation unit configured to sequentially perform spatial modulation of terahertz waves for each pixel, on a propagation distance from an emission of the terahertz waves until reaching the detection unit, by using a first modulation pattern and a second modulation pattern, wherein the terahertz waves each correspond to a pixel of an object in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the terahertz wave penetrates inside the object, and to emit a first terahertz wave and a second terahertz wave; an adjustment unit configured to convert a change amount of the propagation distance of the terahertz wave for each pixel corresponding to the modulation pattern to a time amount, to adjust positions on a time axis of a first time waveform of the first terahertz wave and a second time waveform of the second terahertz wave from the generating unit based on the time amount, and to generate a third time waveform and a fourth time waveform; and an addition unit configured to perform an addition processing of the third time waveform and the fourth time waveform for each pixel.