ABSTRACT
We successfully analyzed the concentrations of five amino acids in commercially available dietary amino acid supplements by using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) with an error of ± 12% for the best reproduced components. We also succeeded in analyzing tablets of the supplements wrapped in paper, and thus showed the merit of using THz waves for the nondestructive quantitative analysis of packaged samples by employing the fact that THz waves are capable of passing through several types of packaging material. The ability of THz waves to pass through the paper made it possible to perform a quantitative analysis using the same standard spectra as those used for an unwrapped sample, and the accuracy of a direct quantitative analysis of a packaged sample was almost the same as that of an unwrapped sample.
Subject(s)
Amino Acids/analysis , Dietary Supplements/analysis , Spectrum Analysis/methods , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We present a photonic technique for generating a frequency- modulated sub-terahertz signal for non-destructive or noninvasive sensing and imaging applications. Large frequency deviation was achieved by using optical phase modulation and heterodyne photomixing with an uni-travelling photodetector. The operation principle is theoretically derived and explained. In addition, the generation of 350-GHz frequency- modulated sub-terahertz signal with 6.7-GHz frequency deviation is experimentally demonstrated, and the possibility of frequencies up to 1 THz and wider frequency deviations is discussed.
ABSTRACT
We propose a high-sweeping-speed optically synchronized dual-channel terahertz (THz) signal generator for an active gas-sensing system with a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer. The generator can sweep a frequency range from 200 to 500 GHz at a speed of 375 GHz/s and a frequency resolution of 500 MHz. With the developed gas-sensing system, a gas-absorption-line measurement was successfully carried out with N(2)O gas in that frequency range.
