Now, chemists at Caltech have created a frequency comb that precisely generates and detects terahertz waves. The device uses ultrafast pulsed lasers, or oscillators, to produce thousands of frequencies of radiation distributed evenly across a spectrum.
The comb's 'teeth' are evenly spaced from 0.15 to 2.4THz, giving scientists a way to test 10,000 frequencies at once.
The comb has already sped up astrochemical research into stellar nurseries by determining the kinds of molecules that are present in fledgling planetary systems.
In addition, the terahertz comb will also be useful for studying fundamental interactions between molecules. Terahertz frequencies are said to be the only direct way to look not only at vibrations within individual large molecules that are important to life, but also at vibrations between different molecules that govern the behaviour of liquids such as water.
Using this method, terahertz radiation could detect difference in water density in soft tissue which could allow the non-invasive detection of such diseases as skin cancer.
For more on terahertz technology click here.
