THESIS
2015
xix, 113 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm
Abstract
Terahertz (1012Hz) radiation typically refers to a band of electromagnetic waves with the frequency between 0.1 to 10 THz which is non-ionizing. In this work, we refer to it as THz light rather than THz radiation to avoid the negative associations with the word ‘radiation’. Many materials such as plastics and ceramics are transparent to THz light, yet water is highly absorbing in the THz range. By exploiting the sensitivity of terahertz light to water, we can investigate the potential of using THz imaging for biomedical applications.
Terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) systems are one of the most commonly used THz systems. In this thesis, we improve metrology for terahertz reflection geometry spectroscopy and imaging systems. The major achievements of this work include: 1. W...[
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Terahertz (1012Hz) radiation typically refers to a band of electromagnetic waves with the frequency between 0.1 to 10 THz which is non-ionizing. In this work, we refer to it as THz light rather than THz radiation to avoid the negative associations with the word ‘radiation’. Many materials such as plastics and ceramics are transparent to THz light, yet water is highly absorbing in the THz range. By exploiting the sensitivity of terahertz light to water, we can investigate the potential of using THz imaging for biomedical applications.
Terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) systems are one of the most commonly used THz systems. In this thesis, we improve metrology for terahertz reflection geometry spectroscopy and imaging systems. The major achievements of this work include: 1. We developed a sample preservation technique to preserve the THz properties of excised biological tissues in the THz range which will aid the studies of medical samples in the future: ex vivo studies of tissues are needed before in vivo studies will be made. 2. We proposed an algorithm to remove the errors due to three major reasons: the amplitude fluctuation of the incident THz wave, the fibre drift induced phase delay, and the inhomogeneity of the imaging window. The results for sample characterization acquired using our proposed algorithm suffer less from spatial variations and are more accurate than conventional methods. The algorithm is potentially useful to all types of application and in this work we use it for investigating THz imaging of scar tissue and THz monitoring of transdermal drug delivery by microneedles.
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