Sensing Textile Fibers by THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Abstract

Along with the booming development of multi-component blending fabrics, the accurate detection of component of fabrics has become a major goal in textile testing. Terahertz sensing technology provides a new way for detecting the materials. THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is a novel spectroscopic technique which measures the electric field of the radiation through a sample and provides the phase and amplitude changes of the radiation, which can provide information unavailable through conventional methods such as microwave and X-ray techniques. In this investigation, THz-TDS technology was introduced into the textile differentiation. Three kinds of cellulose textile fibers, cotton fiber, bamboo fiber and viscose fiber, were prepared as the sample and detected by THz-TDS at room temperature in the absence of vapor. The temporal and frequency signals of the fibers were obtained. In the THz absorption spectrum, the characteristic absorption peaks of textile fibers in THz wave band were found, which can be used to recognize the fibers. This approach provides a novel non-contact examine method for fiber identification in complicated textiles.