Abstract
The non-destructive scanning of mail envelopes and packages is a topic of intense current interest. A large number of techniques are under investigation for the rapid screening of mail to detect illegal and/or harmful substances such as explosives, illicit drugs and bioterrorism substances such as the Anthrax causing bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Terahertz imaging has a number of important advantages in this application setting. Firstly paper, plastics, cardboard and many other packaging materials are largely transparent to THz radiation. Additionally, the coherent detection of THz pulses provides frequency-dependent, phase sensitive measurements of the response of the sample. This information may one day lead to a reliable method for the detection of specific substances in mail.
© 2002 Optical Society of America
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