Abstract
Using the high penetrability of the terahertz waves and the characteristic absorption spectra in this frequency range, we have built a noninvasive mail inspection system targeting drugs and explosives. The system is composed of two stages; in the first stage, the scattering of a continuous terahertz wave is used for selecting mail that contains concealed powder; in the second stage, the absorption spectrum of the suspicious mail is measured and the material is identified using a terahertz spectrum database. We evaluated the performance and the limits of the inspection system.
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