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An Introduction to Terahertz Technology, Its History, Properties and Application

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 An Introduction to Terahertz Technology, Its History, Properties and
Application
Prabira Kumar Sethy Pratyush Ranjan Mishra
Lecturer in Electronics, SUIIT Dept. of ECE, SUIIT
Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla Sambalpur University,Jyoti Vihar, Burla
Odisha, India-768019 Odisha, India-768019
Email- psethy@suiit.ac.in Email-pratyush.mishra@suiit.ac.in
Abstract-Te rahertz waves are in the area of 300 µm and the
te rahertz gap is generally considered to be between 300 GHz
and 10 THz .[1] What make terahertz waves interesting are
the re possible applications because of their interesting
prope rties. [2][3] They are less harmful then X-rays when used
for me dical imaging, and when used for spectroscopy they
provide information other waves cannot. Using Terahertz
e quipment, THz imaging is capable of being applied to a no. of
3D te rahertz imaging and spectroscopy uses such as detection
of hidden objects, drug discovery & formulation analysis of
coating & cores, non-invasive medical & dental diagnostics,
non-destructive rapid fault isolation in IC packages. In this
pape r the history of Terahertz Technology will be studied,
focusing on their properties and applications.
Key Word –Applications, Properties, Terahertz Radiation, sub-
millimeter wave, Terahertz Technology.
I. Introduction
Toda y, Terahertz i s broadly a pplied to s ub millimeter-wave
energy tha t fi l l s the wa vel ength ra nge between 1000-
100µm (300GHz-3THz). Beyond 3THz a nd out to 30µm
(10THz) i s more or l ess unclaimed terri tory, a s few i f a ny
components exi s t. The border between fa r-IR a nd s ub
mi l limeter i s still ra ther blurry a nd designation i s l i kel y to
fol l ow the methodology (bulk or modal-photon or wa ve),
whi ch is dominant i n the particul a r i ns trument. Des pi te
grea t s cientific i nterest at l east the 1920s [2], the terahertz
frequency ra nge remains one of the least tapped regi ons
of the electromagnetic s pectrum. Sa ndwi ched between
tra di tional microwa ve a nd opti ca l technol ogi es where
there i s a limited atmospheric propagation pa th [3], l i ttl e
commerci a l empha s i s ha s been pl a ced on tera hertz
s ys tems. This has perha ps fortuna tel y, pres erved s ome
uni que s ci ence a nd a ppl i ca ti ons for tomorrow’s
technol ogy.
Figure 1: Electromagnetic spectrum showing the THz band
gap.
Santi Behera
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Computer Science & Engg.
MNNIT , Allahabad
Uttar Pradesh, India-211004
Email-santibehera@mnnit.ac.in
II. Terahertz Technology: A Brief History
 The First image generated using THz radiation in
1960.
 In 1995, THz image was generated using
Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy generated a
great deal of interest, and sparked a rapid growth
in the field of terahertz technology.
 In 2002, the European Space Agency (ESA) star
Tiger Team at Rutherford Appleton laboratory
produced first passive THz image of a hand.
 By 2004, ThruVision Ltd, demonstrated the
world’s first compact THz camera for security
screening application. This system successfully
imaged guns and explosive under clothing.
 In mid-2007, scientists at the U.S. Department of
Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, along
with collaborators in Turkey and Japan,
announced the creation of a compact device that
can lead to portable, battery -operated sources of
T-rays, or terahertz radiation. The group was led
by Ulrich Welp of Argonne's M aterials Science
Division. This new T-ray source uses high-
temperature superconducting crystals grown at
the University of Tsukuba, Japan. These crystals
comprise stacks of Josephson junctions that
exhibit a unique electrical property: When an
external voltage is applied, an alternating current
will flow back and forth across the junctions at a
frequency proportional to the strength of the
voltage; this phenomenon is known as the
Josephson effect. These alternating currents then
produce electromagnetic fields whose frequency
is tuned by the applied voltage. Even a small
voltage – around two millivolts per junction can
induce frequencies in the terahertz range,
according to Welp.
 In 2008, engineers at Harvard University
demonstrated that room temperature emission of
several hundred nano watts of coherent terahertz
radiation could be achieved with a semiconductor
 source. THz radiation was generated by nonlinear
mixing of two modes in a mid-infrared quantum
cascade laser. Until then, sources had required
cryogenic cooling, greatly limiting their use in
everyday applications.
 In 2009, it was shown that T-waves are produced
when unpeeling adhesive tape. The observed
spectrum of this terahertz radiation exhibits a
peak at 2 THz and a broader peak at 18 THz. The
radiation is not polarized. The mechanism of
terahertz radiation is tribocharging of the
adhesive tape and subsequent discharge.
 In 2011, Japanese electronic parts maker Rohm
and a research team at Osaka University
produced a chip capable of transmitting 1.5
Gbit/s using terahertz radiation.
 In 2013, researchers at Georgia Institute of
Technology's Broadband Wireless Networking
Laboratory and the Polytechnic University of
Catalonia developed a method to create
a graphene antenna: an antenna that would be
shaped into graphene strips from 10 to 100
nanometers wide and one micrometer long. Such
an antenna would broadcast in the terahertz
frequency range.
III. Properties of THz Radiation
THz radiation has several distinct advantages over other
forms of spectroscopy: many materials are transparent to
THz, THz radiation is safe for biological tissues because it
is non-ionizing(unlike for example X-rays), and images
formed with terahertz radiation can have relatively good
resolution (less than 1 mm). Also, many interesting
materials have unique spectral fingerprints in the terahertz
range, which means that terahertz radiation can be used to
identify them. Examples which have been demonstrated
include several different types of explosives, polymorphic
forms of many compounds used as Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredients (API) in commercial medications as well as
several illegal narcotic substances. Since many materials
are transparent to THz radiation, these items of interest can
be observed through visually opaque intervening layers,
such as packaging and clothing. Though not strictly a
spectroscopic technique, the ultrashort width of the THz
radiation pulses allows for measurements (e.g., thickness,
density, defect location) on difficult to probe materials
(e.g., foam). The measurement capability shares many
similarities to that observed with pulsed ultrasonic systems.
Reflections from buried interfaces and defects can be found
and precisely imaged. THz measurements are non-contact
however. The earth’s atmosphere is a strong absorber of
terahertz radiation in specific vapour absorption bands.
IV. Terahertz Application in Science
and Technology
The unique nature of THz radiation make it has broad and
important application in the field of astrophysics, plasma
physics and engineering, materials science and engineering,
biomedical engineering, environmental science and
engineering, spectroscopy and imaging technology,
information science and technology, etc.
A. The Application THz Technology in Biomedicine
Since many biological macromolecules and DNA
molecular rotation and vibration locate in the THz-band
level generally, the organisms has a unique response to
THz wave; therefore, THz radiation can be used for disease
diagnosis, organisms detection and imaging, as shown in
Fig. 2.
Figure 2: THz tomography of human teeth
Computer-aided tomography technology is the three-
dimensional imaging technique, which is developed and
applied in the field of X-ray at first. THz wave can also be
applied to computer-assisted tomography. X-ray
tomographic imaging of objects can only reflect the
distribution of absorption rate, while the THz tomography
record the time waveform information of entire THz pulse.
Therefore, according to different requirements can select a
different physical detection, such as the electric field
strength, peak time and even the spectral characteristics of
the material. THz tomography can get not only the
absorption rate distribution of objects, but also can get the
three-dimensional distribution of the refractive index of
objects and materials .
THz-wave imaging has several inherent limitations:
(1) it is not able to penetrate the metal. M etal surface is
almost 100 percent reflection index of the THz radiation,
THz wave therefore is not able to detect metal objects
container. (2) Water has a strong absorption on the THz
wave.
B. S afety Monitoring and Quality Control
THz radiation can also be used for detecting pollutants,
biological and chemical detection, and therefore can be
used to monitor the process of food preservation and food
processing. The characteristics of THz wave, penetrating
objects and security, can be used for non-contact, non-
injury to
Figure 3: Detection of hidden metal weapons by THz wave.
detect specific substances, such as hidden explosives,
drugs, weapons, etc (as shown in Fig. 3). As a result of the
strong capacity of penetration and low energy of THz
electromagnetic waves (completely harmless to humans),
THz imaging can completely replace the X-ray
examination, CT scan, and be used in the material non-
destructive monitoring and vital security sector and
chemical and biological weapons inspection.
C. Nondestructive Testing
The safety and penetrable properties of THz wave can be
used for nondestructive testing of building. The
penetrability of THz wave can be measured from THz
time-domain spectroscopy. Foam is the materials used
Space shuttle commonly; the crash of the US space shuttle
in 2003, \Columbia" is caused by the degumming of foam
isolation in external fuel tank layer. Foam has very low
absorption and refractive index on the THz wave, so THz
waves can penetrate a few inches thick foam, and to detect
the buried defects. THz imaging has been selected as the
one of four type of future technology of NASA to detect
the defects in space shuttle (the other three technologies for
X-ray imaging, ultrasound imaging and laser imaging).
D. Astronomy and Atmospheric Research
THz is a very important radio astronomy band to ultra-high
spatial resolution of the universe; therefore, we can use
THz technology to carry study of the interstellar formation
and the space research. A large number of atmospheric
molecules such as water, carbon monoxide, nitrogen,
oxygen can be detected in the THz band, which can be use
to atmospheric environmental protection and the
monitoring of the ozone layer.
E. S hort Distance Wireless Communications
and Networking
THz band has high frequency, wide bandwidth and more
channel than the microwave, which is suitable for in local
area networks and broadband mobile communications. 10
Gbps wireless trans-mission speeds can be obtained by THz
communication, which is a few hundred or even thousands
of times faster than current Ultra-Wideband technology,
and is the future hope for large-capacity multimedia
wireless communications. Some experts predict that in the
near future THz wireless network will replace the wireless
LAN or Bluetooth technology, become the major short-
range wireless communications technology.
F. Military Applications
THz technology has three main applications in the military
field: THz communications, THz non-destructive detection
and anti-stealth THz ultra-wideband radar.
F.I. S ecure Communication
In outer space, the transmission of THz is lossless, so we can
achieve long-range space communications with very little
power. At the same time, compared with the current space
optical communication, THz wave has wider beam width, so
it is easier to pointing in the long-distance space
communication. And antenna system can achieve small and
flat, and is particularly suited for secure communications
between the stars and satellites.
F.II. Anti-stealth THz Ultra-wideband Radar
THz radar can emit tens of thousands of species frequency
as well as pico-second and nanosecond pulse at GW level;
it has many advantages and capabilities that ordinary radar
does not have. THz radar has a broad application prospects
in the military and national security.
THz radar launch THz pulse contains a wealth of
frequency, which enable stealth aircraft to lose the role of
narrow-band radar absorbing coating. Furthermore, THz
radar has strong anti-stealth ability to shape stealthy and
material stealthy.
Figures 4 and 5 show the radar imaging of military
trailers and T72 tanks model in portable THz radar research
projects which funded by US Army National Ground
 Intelligence Center.
Figure 4: THz radar imaging of military targets.
Figure 5: THz radar imaging of hidden military targets.
F.III. Chemical and Biological Agent Detection
THz pulse spectrum is very sensitive to molecules and the
constitutes of their surrounding environment. Therefore, in
all weather conditions, as well as smoke and dust
environment, THz technology can be used in chemical
detection of the air in the battle field, and can identify of
the type of the chemical and biological agents.
G. Conclusion
Nearly two decades, THz technology have made some
progress and development in both basic research and
applied research. A comprehensive summary of the current
THz technology in the field of basic research, technology
research and civilian applications is given. And the paper is
focused on the explanation of THz technology in the
defense, medical and military applications.
H. References
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