Scattering effects in terahertz reflection spectroscopy

Recent advances in ultrafast optical laser technology have improved generation and detection of energy within the terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. One promising application of THz spectroscopy is the detection of explosive materials and chemical or biological agents. This application has been motivated by initial measurements that indicate that explosives may have unique spectral characteristics in the THz region thus providing a discernible fingerprint. However, since THz wavelengths are 10's to 100's of microns in scale, rough interfaces between materials as well as the granular nature of explosives can cause frequency-dependent scattering that has the potential to alter or obscure these signatures. For reflection spectroscopy in particular the measured response may be dominated by rough surface scattering, which is in turn influenced by a number of factors including the dielectric, contrast, the angle of incidence and scattering, and the operating frequency. In this paper, we present measurements of THz scattering from rough surfaces and compare these measurements with analytical and numerical scattering models. These models are then used to predict the distortion of explosive signatures due to rough surface interfaces with varying surface height deviations and correlation lengths. Implications of scattering effects on the performance of THz sensing of explosive materials are presented and discussed.