Stronger Terahertz Waves Allow Safer Detection of Hidden Objects

September 1, 2016

Terahertz waves penetrate a teapotKang Liu, a PhD student in optics, and Xi-Cheng Zhang, the M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics and director of the Institute of Optics, collaborated with Tzortzakis Stelios' group in Greece on an ingenious way to extend the "reach" of terahertz waves with an unconventional laser beam, called a ring-Airy beam. “It makes possible the remote sensing of chemical, biological, and explosive materials from a standoff distance,” Xi-Cheng explains, making this a promising tool for Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies. Read more here.