Sussex team make EPic breakthrough with THz radiation

The breakthrough at Sussex University was led by Professor Marco Peccianti of the Emergent Photonics (EPic) Lab and included Luana Olivieri, Dr Juan S. Totero Gongora and a team of research students.

UK-China developed radiation source could offer safer alternative to x-rays 

Graphene amplifier taps into elusive terahertz gap

According to the university, images produced with THz radiation are called 'hyperspectral' because the image consists of pixels, each one containing the electromagnetic signature of the object in that point. Lying between microwaves and infrared in the electromagnetic spectrum, THz radiation easily penetrates materials like paper, clothes and plastic in the same way X-rays do, but without being harmful. THz radiation is safe to use with biological samples and makes it possible to visualise the molecular composition of objects and distinguish between different materials.

"The core challenge in THz cameras is not about collecting an image, but it is about preserving the objects spectral fingerprint that can be easily corrupted by your technique,” Prof Peccianti said in a statement. “This is where the importance of our achievement lies. The fingerprint of all the details of the image is preserved in such a way that we can investigate the nature of the object in full detail."