A niche but rapidly growing segment of the molecular spectroscopy market is terahertz spectroscopy. It offers a number of advantages over other analytical techniques, and can provide unique molecular information that is complementary to other molecular spectroscopy techniques. There are quite a few vendors that offer or are developing terahertz instrumentation. There is also a broad range of potential applications, indicating significant long-term market potential.

The terahertz segment of the electromagnetic spectrum lies at the far end of the infrared range, just before the millimeter and microwave regions, and includes wavelengths from 100 µm up to 1 mm, which corresponds to frequencies of ~0.3 THz to ~10 THz. While infrared spectroscopy provides information on basic types of molecular bond vibrations, terahertz spectroscopy detects fingerprints of more complex molecules, such as DNA helixes. A major advantage of radiation in this range is that it can penetrate many materials, such as concrete, clothing and paper, making it potentially useful in a broad range of applications, including imaging.

The terahertz spectroscopy market is only about a decade old. The global market for terahertz spectroscopy was less than $10 million in 2009, but has nearly doubled over the past five years. The market is poised to develop into a significant segment of the molecular spectroscopy market over the next several years.

The first applications for terahertz, as for many new spectral analytical techniques, were heavily research based, so systems were mostly sold into academic laboratories researching particle physics and superconducting materials. Terahertz spectrometers have also been developed for astronomy on board spacecraft, and more recently have been used for pharmaceutical tablet analysis. Current efforts are underway to develop terahertz-based instruments for security applications and biomedical imaging applications because of the technique’s inherent imaging capabilities.

There are now close to a dozen vendors that either offer a commercial terahertz spectrometer instrument or are currently developing one. The competitive landscape is indicative of a very immature market with considerable potential, as none of the current terahertz spectrometer manufacturers are major competitors in the analytical instrument market. However, Bruker is involved in the market, as it currently distributes TeraView’s instruments.

TeraView and Picometrix were the first two companies to develop commercial terahertz instruments, and currently lead the market. Most of the vendors in the market are relatively small companies in total. Other competitors include T-Ray Science, which is developing systems for skin cancer detection and for identification of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and Japanese-based Advantest, which has developed a 3D-imaging terahertz system for the analysis of pharmaceuticals and material science.

Terahertz Spectroscopy at a Glance:

Leading Suppliers

• TeraView

• Picometrix (API)

• T-Ray Science

Largest Markets

• Academia

• Pharmaceuticals

• Materials Science

Instrument Cost

• $50,000–$400,000