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Bioaerosol Detection Technologies pp 241–264Cite as

Biological Detection with Terahertz Spectroscopy

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Abstract

This chapter describes the basic principles of resolved vibrational spectroscopy of biological macromolecules and species in the sub-terahertz spectral range of radiation and the application of this technology for the biological detection including material in air. The origin of THz spectroscopic signatures specific to bioparticles is based upon low energy internal molecular vibrations that absorb radiation at characteristic frequencies. The multiple resonance features provide distinctive spectral fingerprints for detection and identification of harmful biological species. The sensitivity and selectivity of THz biosensing is demonstrated. The possibility to make THz detector systems for the biological detection is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by contracts from the ARO #W911NF-08-C-0049 & #W911NF-10-C-0076 and by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, grant #HDTRA1-08-1-0038.

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  1. University of Virginia, 104 Chaucer Rd., 22904-1000, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Tatiana Globus & Boris Gelmont

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  1. Tatiana Globus
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Correspondence to Tatiana Globus .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Sensor and EW Systems FOI—Swedish Defence Research Agency, Linköping, Sweden

    Per Jonsson

  2. Division of CBRN Defence and Security, FOI—Swedish Defence Research Agency, Umeå, Sweden

    Göran Olofsson

  3. Division of CBRN Defence and Security FOI—Swedish Defence Research Agency, Umeå, Sweden

    Torbjörn Tjärnhage

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Globus, T., Gelmont, B. (2014). Biological Detection with Terahertz Spectroscopy. In: Jonsson, P., Olofsson, G., Tjärnhage, T. (eds) Bioaerosol Detection Technologies. Integrated Analytical Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5582-1_11

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