Terahertz Spectroscopy: A Powerful Technique for Food Drying Research
Lihui Zhang, Min Zhang, Arun S. Mujumdar
Abstract
Due to its major advantages such as broadband capability, coherence, low photon energy, water absorption characteristics, high penetration ability and fingerprint spectrum, terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is being applied extensively in the field of food science and technology. The application of terahertz is a promising technology for monitor and detection of chemical components during drying foods. In this paper, a concise overview of the important features of THz spectrum and imaging are described. In addition, the latest advances in the application of THz technology to monitor the variation of water content during drying along with the possibility for quantitative detection of sugar, protein, amino acid and foreign-objects are summarized. Also, potential problems and limitations in the application of terahertz technology are summarized for further development.