Terahertz instrumentation supplier Advanced Photonix, Inc. [API] has received a $1 million Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract from the Department of Homeland Security to develop and prototype a flexible terahertz instrument that can be marketed as a replacement for nuclear source gauges, which are used in industrial process monitoring and control. The gauges are used to measure thickness or mass in paper, plastics, rubber, foodstuffs and other materials used in manufacturing and packaging. The orphaned status of the nuclear gauges is a concern in terms of theft and misuse, which could result in their use in dirty bombs. Environmental contamination is another concern with orphaned nuclear gauges. Replacing the gauges with terahertz instruments would eliminate nuclear disposal issues. Advanced Photonix says a successful Phase II program would result in a high-speed instrument that outperforms nuclear gauges, has lower life-cycle costs, and leads to the replacement of the nuclear gauges.
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