Subwavelength Terahertz Resonance Imaging (STRING) for Molecular Fingerprinting

Abstract

Subwavelength terahertz (THz) imaging methods are highly desirable for biochemical sensing as well as materials sciences, yet sensitive spectral fingerprinting is still challenging in the frequency domain due to weak light–matter interactions. Here, we demonstrate subwavelength THz resonance imaging (STRING) that overcomes this limitation to achieve ultrasensitive molecular fingerprinting. STRING combines individual ring-shaped coaxial single resonators with near-field spectroscopy, yielding considerable sensitivity gains from both local field enhancement and the near-field effect. As an initial demonstration, we obtained spectral fingerprints from isomers of α-lactose and maltose monohydrates, achieving sensitivity that was enhanced by up to 10 orders of magnitude compared to far-field THz measurements with pelletized samples. Our results show that the STRING platform could enable the development of THz spectroscopy as a practical and sensitive tool for the fingerprinting and spectral imaging of molecules and nanoparticles.