Terahertz radiation or T-rays, show promise in quality control of food products. As T-rays are inherently sensitive to water, they are very suitable for moisture detection. This proves to be a valuable asset in detecting the moisture content of dried food, a critical area for some products. As T-rays are transparent to plastics, food
additives can also be probed through the packaging, providing checks against a manufacturer's claims, such as the presence of certain substances in foods.
Terahertz (THz) radiation has many far reaching applications - of specific interest is that many non-metallic
and non-polar substances are transparent in the THz frequency range. This provides many practical uses
for security purposes, where it is possible to detect and determine various substances that may be hidden or
undetectable via conventional methods such as X-rays. In addition to this property, terahertz radiation can
either be used in reflection or transmission modes.
This paper will look into the use of transmission techniques to detect various substances using a terahertz
system. Common materials used in bags and suitcases such as nylon, polycarbonate (PC), and polyethylene
(PE) are tested for transparency. These materials then sandwich various illicit substances, and are scanned
by the terahertz system to obtain spectral data, simulating the probing of a suitcase. The sample materials
are then subtracted from the obtained data, which is then compared with previously obtained data of known
substances, and an examination of features in the sample is carried out to determine if a particular substance
is present in the sample.
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