admin In todays era compact, chip-based lasers are ruling almost all of the electro-magnetic spectrum may it be ultraviolet or infrared radiations right from digital communications and barcode readers to laser pointers printers. But even though there is so much advancement there was one area who’s potential remained untapped, terahertz: this region lies between infrared lights and microwaves. This region has the capacity to penetrate opaque objects and to even probe the chemical fingerprints present inside. These terahertz radiations till date could have only worked in extremely low temperature therefore making their practical usage near zero and restricting them to only the laboratory settings.
But the ait is finally over, researchers have reportedly found a chip which is of the size of a grain of rice that has the terahertz laser attached to it. This chip is said to work at the temperature of 250 K or -25 degree C which is readily available in normal settings with the help of a plug-in cooler or an air conditioner.
Miriam Vitiello who is a condensed matter physicist at the Nanoscience Institute of Italy’s Research Council, termed this as great achievement in the field. She feels that this has been a long-term goal and scientists were working on creating such a chip or substance since a lot of time. With the help of such a chip she believes that now a plethora of applications will become possible that will range from medical imaging to explosives detection made possible in the airports.
The work done is revolutionary and the fact which excites the scientists more is that by using the very same technique and technology there is a possibility of creating a room temperature terahertz laser.
The coming of such a technology has been anticipated for a very long time. If successful then it will become possible to distinguish between skin cancer from normal tissue without having to go through the process of a biopsy, it will no longer be required to look out for airline passengers and the cargo that they are carrying for either hidden explosives or illegal carrying drugs and even pharmaceutical fakes. It is the technology that the world requires!
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