The Use of Metal Oxide Semiconductors for THz Spectroscopy of Biological Applications

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) waves refer to the electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 THz, which corresponds to the wavelengths from 3 mm to 30 µm, respectively. This spectral region, called also as “T-gap”, is important for many practical applications, including THz imaging, chemical and biological sensing, high-speed telecommunication, security and medical applications. THz waves have low photon energies (~4.1 meV for 1 THz), which is about 1 million times weaker than the energy of X-ray photons. They do neither ignite any explosive materials at typical power levels nor cause any harmful ionization in biological tissues. The terahertz radiation is strongly attenuated by water and is very sensitive to water content.