Nanoscale Imaging Technology for THz Frequency Transmission Microscopy

A novel nanoscale-engineering methodology is presented that has potential for the first-time development of a microscope-system capable of collecting terahertz (THz) frequency spectroscopic signatures from microscopic biological (bio) structures. This unique THz transmission microscopy approach is motivated by prior studies on bio-materials and bio-agents (e.g., DNA, RNA and bacterial spores) that have produced spectral features within the THz frequency regime (i.e., ~ 300 GHz to 1000 GHz) that appear to be representative of the internal structure and characteristics of the constituent bio-molecules. The suggested THz transmission microscopy is a fundamentally new technological approach that seeks to avoid the limitations that exist in traditional experiments (i.e., that must average over large numbers of microscopic molecules) by prescribing a viable technique whereby the THz frequency signatures may be collected from individual bio-molecules and/or microscopic biological constructs. Specifically, it is possible to envision the development of a “nanoscale imaging array” that possesses the characteristics necessary (e.g., sub-wavelength resolution) for successfully performing “THz-frequency microscopy.”