The development of terahertz technology for physical, biological, and medical imaging and spectroscopy

基础技术研究计划为我们提供了在英国建立太赫兹(THz)频率成像和光谱分析技术平台的独特机会。这一电磁频谱区域位于微波和中红外(300 GHz至30太赫兹)之间，由于缺乏合适的源和探测器，该区域在很大程度上仍未被探索。然而，这一光谱范围具有巨大的潜力，预计应用范围从医学和牙科成像和光谱学，到大气传感、无线区域通信和天文。我们在基础技术研究计划方面取得了许多关键发展。其中包括：1)用于研究滥用药物和爆炸物的非常宽带宽的太赫兹光谱分析系统；2)可用于遗传分析的高灵敏度芯片光谱仪；3)同时工作在多个频率并应用于气体传感和污染监测的新设计的半导体激光器；4)使用太赫兹和核磁共振对药物化合物进行分析，以及研究聚合物中的扩散过程。这可能会对药物控释机制产生影响；5)高压燃烧室的建造，可用于对高压火焰进行太赫兹测量。这将应用于飞机发动机的优化和改进。虽然已经取得了很好的进展，但仍有大量研究需要进行。因此，我们申请了“翻译”拨款，以进一步推动这些研究课题，并确定其中哪些(我们已获得专利的几个)可能被行业采用，并发现广泛的适用性。

The Basic Technology Research Programme provided us with a unique opportunity for the establishment of a technological platform in the UK for imaging and spectroscopy at terahertz (THz) frequencies. This region of the electromagnetic spectrum lies between the microwave and the mid-infrared (300GHz to 30THz), and had remained largely unexplored owing to the lack of suitable sources and detectors. Yet, there was an enormous potential for this spectral range with projected applications ranging from medical and dental imaging and spectroscopy, through to atmospheric sensing, wireless area communications, and astronomy.We have made many key developments on our Basic Technology Research Programme. These include:1) A very broad bandwidth THz spectroscopy system that has been used for studying drugs-of-abuse and explosives;2) A highly sensitive on-chip spectrometer, which can be used for genetic analysis;3) A new design of semiconductor laser operating at more than one frequency simultaneously with applications to gas sensing and pollution monitoring;4) An analysis of pharmaceutical compounds using THz and MRI, and the study of diffusion processes in polymers. This is likely to have impact on controlled-release pharmaceutical mechanisms;5) The construction of a high-pressure combustion chamber, which can be used for making THz measurements of high-pressure flames. This has applications to the optimisation and improvement of aircraft engines.Whilst excellent progress has been made, there is still plenty of research to be undertaken. We thus have applied for a 'Translation' grant to take these research topics further, and determine which of these (several of which we have patented) is likely to be taken up by industry, and find widescale applicability.