The terahertz spectrum, wedged between the infrared wavelengths and microwave, used to be terra incognito, but no more. “For years, there were few good sources and detectors in this frequency range,” research associate professor Tatiana Globus explains. “But this situation has changed dramatically in the last five years, thanks in part to pioneering work done at U.Va. This opens the way for a wide range of exciting applications.”

The Next Tool for Medical Research

Terahertz radiation is particularly useful for detecting small molecules, like carbon monoxide, ozone and water in the gas phase, that absorb terahertz radiation and resonate in the terahertz. It is also useful for characterizing weak chemical bonds in big molecules, an area where established technologies like infrared spectroscopy have limitations. “The specific resonance frequency of biomolecules in the terahertz can be used as a signature, helping us identify biological threats,” Globus says.

Globus is contributing her expertise in spectroscopy to a group led by Professor Don Brown, chair of the Department of Systems and Information Engineering, that has received a W. M. Keck Foundation grant to develop a device using the terahertz spectrum to study biological molecules. “This technology will be particularly useful for medical research, helping us to further understand such issues as biomolecular interactions,” she says.

At the Frontier of Discovery

From Globus’ point of view, the potential applications are both exciting and virtually limitless. “The terahertz has been uncharted territory,” she says. “One of my goals is to acquaint as many young researchers with the field as possible, so that together we can start filling in the map as quickly as we can.”