Unique instrument shines through almost everything

A research team at LiU has built a one-of-a-kind spectrometer that analyses samples with electromagnetic waves in the terahertz range, around a trillion oscillations a second. Low-frequency light reveals internal structures and properties in all conceivable materials.

The architect of the instrument, reader Vanya Darakchieva, works with electronics. High on her agenda is the characterisation of carbon-based materials that have attracted attention, such as graphene and nanowires. But she wants to broaden her opportunities with this brand-new facility. Textiles, plastics, paper and human skin are only some of the materials that can be studied in detail.

In contrast to X-rays, the radiation is non-destructive and completely harmless, which means that the terahertz technique can also be applied to people, for example during security screenings and to detect skin cancer. “The technology has also been used to shine through a work by Picasso, which revealed another painting under it,” Ms Darakchieva tells us.

Read more at Linköping University

Image Credit: Linköping University

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