Terahertz radiation (0.1 THz-10 THz) has attracted tremendous attention because of its miraculous properties, which have inspired broad applications in communication, imaging, astrosurveillance, and national defense applications, especially in sensing and diagnosis. In the last ten years or so, terahertz sensing and diagnosis have become a very dynamic field of research in the broad area of terahertz spectroscopy, both theoretically and experimentally. This has led to remarkable progress in the understanding of terahertz non-destructive testing (NDT) with the potential for formidable impact on a wide range of applications, from biomedical sensing to engineering diagnosis. It also has been leading to the development of innovative terahertz technologies that provide biosensing, and precise diagnostics with unprecedented ultrahigh sensitivity, resolution, and detection speed.
Although terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) has achieved fruitful results in the nondestructive testing (NDT) field especially for biomedical analytics and engineering diagnosis, THz-TDS nondestructive testing also faces the increasing demand for improving the existing theoretical methods, detection range, and low detection speed and resolution. Because of these limitations in THz sensing and diagnosis, there is an increasing awareness that THz technology may be combined with methods such as the use of strongly confined electromagnetic fields to enhance light-matter interactions and thereby produce a better measurement effect. This Research Topic focuses on the recent progress of terahertz sensing and diagnosis, and trends in developing leading-edge fundamental concepts and novel applications.
The purpose of this Research Topic of Frontiers in Physics is to highlight the recent progress and trends in the development of leading-edge terahertz nondestructive testing technologies. Areas of interest include (but not limited to):
- Ultrahigh-sensitivity terahertz sensing
- Terahertz non-destructive testing
- Terahertz diagnosis
- Ultrahigh-resolution imaging and spectroscopy
- Terahertz signal processing
- Plasmonic devices
- Novel metamaterials for sensing applications
- Monitoring biomolecular interactions, structures, and functions on the sub-wavelength
- New devices to generate Terahertz radiation
- Novel concepts, techniques, and simulations for the THz measurement of physical, chemical, biological, and optical parameters
Dr. Yi Huang: Co-ordinator for the project.
