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Theses/Dissertations

2016

Terahertz

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Terahertz Spectroscopic Breath Analysis As A Viable Analytical Chemical Sensing Technique, Robert M. Schueler Jan 2016

Terahertz Spectroscopic Breath Analysis As A Viable Analytical Chemical Sensing Technique, Robert M. Schueler

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The ability to quantify trace chemicals in human breath enables the possibility of identifying breath biomarkers to aid in diagnosis. The vast majority of the studies in the analytical breath analysis rely on GC-MS techniques for quantification of the human breath composition1,2,3,4. THz spectroscopy of breath is rapid, sensitive, and highly specific molecular identification in complex mixtures containing 10-100 analytes with near `absolute' specificity. THz spectroscopic breath analyzers require chemical preconcentration. A newly developed custom preconcentrator was constructed and compared in its performance to a commercial system. Unlike the commercial counterpart, the new system does not require cryogenic liquids, is …


High Powered Pulsed Terahertz Light Generation From Superconducting Antenna Arrays, Nicholas C. Padgett Jan 2016

High Powered Pulsed Terahertz Light Generation From Superconducting Antenna Arrays, Nicholas C. Padgett

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Terahertz radiation is invaluable for use in spectroscopy and imaging work due to its nondestructive nature. It has become a key focus for those wishing to develop sensors capable of detecting weapons and narcotics unobtrusively and at a distance as well as characterizing materials and identifying defects. An ultrafast pulsed (femtoseconds) laser incident on a superconducting ring has been predicted to cause the emission of terahertz (THz) radiation. It is theorized that the radiation is a result of the supercurrent being modulated by the breaking and recombining of Cooper pairs on the order of picoseconds, where the time scale determines …