Terahertz Spectroscopy - The New Favorite Instrument Industry

United Kingdom: Counterfeit goods inspection

It is reported that this technology is called "the ultimate weapon" used by customs to identify fake and inferior products. For example, it can discern the difference between a natural silk fabric and a synthetic silk fabric, and the slight difference between Merino wool and cashmere can't escape its “eye”. These rely only on human touch and sight. It is difficult to distinguish.

According to statistics, the UK’s fashion luxury goods industry suffers losses of around 3.5 billion euros per year due to counterfeit products. Many brands, such as Burberry, pay high "fake" fees every year for this purpose. Although British Customs promulgated the law and confiscated and destroyed counterfeit goods, it was not able to distinguish between them. Today, the appearance of terahertz spectrum will make the implementation of this regulation easier.

The data shows that its terahertz time-domain spectrometers used terahertz irradiating radiation between microwaves and infrared light, which can pass through fabrics and plastic bands. Since the terahertz beam can measure how it is scattered or absorbed as it passes through the fabric, the unique scattering absorption trajectory of a particular fabric combination can be discerned.

John Molloy, a member of the National Physical Laboratory in the UK who is working on the project, said through the scientific journal Applied Optics: “The current fraud technology can make a counterfeit garment have the same appearance and feel as genuine products, so Customs needs the help of technology to discover them. Terahertz spectroscopy is a fast, safe, and reliable method that we can use to protect British industry brands."

China: Application of Prohibition Detection to Accelerate Implementation

In fact, China's China Aerospace Science and Industry Second Hospital 207 successfully developed similar products in January this year, but its efficacy lies in the detection of illicit drugs, single explosives and other prohibited items. As the core part of the terahertz safety detection system, its successful development indicates that the development of the terahertz safety detection system has made substantial progress.

The terahertz safety inspection system being developed by the institute is expected to provide an effective means of detecting illegal items such as drugs and single explosives for the frontier defense customs department, so as to achieve comprehensive detection with multi-technical means and effectively improve the accuracy of the test results.

So far, in the area of ​​detection of drugs and explosives, the conventional detection methods are still used in the world. With the increasing proliferation of drugs and the frequent occurrence of international terrorist activities, all sides of the coastal defense are in urgent need of an effective and rapid non-destructive testing. system. The 207 Institute of the Second Hospital aimed at this market. In 2008, it began to conduct research on the terahertz field and determined the terahertz technology test as a key development direction. At the end of 2010, the institute established a terahertz laboratory to build test platforms and infrastructure. After nearly two years of research by the top scientific research forces of the Institute, the terahertz spectrometer was finally successfully developed and the detection capability of the terahertz fingerprint spectrum was preliminarily achieved. At present, the 207 Institute of the Second Hospital is continuing to focus on system miniaturization and integration to develop an active THz safety inspection system as soon as possible to fill this gap in the international market.

Pampered terahertz wave

Terahertz wave is an electromagnetic wave band between infrared light and microwave. It has the characteristics of low photon energy, strong penetrating power, rich spectrum, and fingerprints of drugs and single explosives in this band.

In fact, as early as a hundred years ago, scientists had involved this band. In 1896 and 1897, Rubens and Nichols involved this waveband. The infrared spectrum reached 9um (0.009mm) and 20um (0.02mm), and there was a record of reaching 50um. After nearly a hundred years, far-infrared technology has achieved many results and has been industrialized. However, the research results and data concerning the terahertz band are very few. They are mainly limited by the effective terahertz generation source and sensitive detectors. Therefore, this band is also called the THz gap. With the development of a series of new technologies and new materials in the 1980s, especially the development of ultra-fast technology, the broadband THz source that has become stable has become a quasi-conventional technology, and the THz technology has been rapidly developed and set off within the actual scope. Shares of THz research boom.

Terahertz's unique capabilities for communications (broadband communications), radar, electronic countermeasures, electromagnetic weapons, astronomy, medical imaging (mark-free genetic testing, cell-level imaging), non-destructive testing, safety inspections (biochemicals inspections), and other fields Brought far-reaching influence. Since the terahertz frequency is high, its spatial resolution is also high; and because of its short pulse (picosecond magnitude), it has a very high temporal resolution. Terahertz imaging technology and terahertz spectroscopy technology constitute the two main key technologies for terahertz applications. At the same time, because the terahertz energy is small, it does not have a destructive effect on the material, so it has advantages over X-rays. In addition, because the resonance frequency of the vibration and rotational frequency of biological macromolecules are both in the terahertz band, terahertz has a good application prospect in the food selection and selection of fine strains, such as agriculture and food processing industries. The application of terahertz is still under continuous development and research. Its broad scientific outlook is recognized by the world.