T-Ray Laser Pulses Advance Imaging, University of Leeds Reveals

Futurity -- U. LEEDS (UK) — Researchers have produced terahertz ray pulses from a quantum cascade laser, the first time rays have been made to emit separate packets of radiation, rather than in a continuous beam. The work, published online in Nature Photonics, could open up new ways for T-rays to image natural and synthetic materials. T-rays, a band of radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum that falls between radio waves and visible light, can be used to detect impurities in chemical and biological materials, generating characteristic spectral fingerprints that are used to identify different substances.