Terahertz waves are anticipated to be helpful in various applications such as hazardous materials scanning systems, high-speed wireless communications, and medical analysis devices. They're also used in the multi-residue analysis for medical diagnostics, agrochemicals, environmental assessment, biometric security process monitoring systems, and industrial products. Between the infrared bands (100 GHz-10 THz) and mm-wave, the Terahertz area of the spectrum is where optics and electronics meet.
Terahertz technology is increasingly being used in healthcare, including biomedical imaging, terahertz imaging, and spectroscopy for cancer detection, among other applications. Furthermore, due to its precision and accuracy, terahertz technology aids in real-time confirmation of removal of all cancer tissues simultaneously, reducing the number of surgeries and facilitating earlier and more precise diagnosis. Furthermore, the ability to generate high-quality spectroscopic imaging by terahertz radiation has made the diagnosis of many chronic and associated disorders much easier.
The emergence of new diseases, such as COVID-19, the expansion of regulatory norms around the world, the focus on population health management, inventions, better-informed customers, and the evolution of advanced technologies are all factors that are increasing the demand for terahertz technologies in the healthcare industry. Furthermore, terahertz technology is rapidly being used in non-destructive testing since it has various advantages over other non-destructive testing methods.
Security checks and surveillance have been a source of concern in airports and other security-sensitive locations where terrorist attacks could occur. Furthermore, because of its many capacities for detecting metallic and non-metallic compounds, the employment of terahertz technology has been advocated in these regions. Terahertz technology can penetrate some opaque materials for the structure of objects in a sealed package, making it an ideal replacement for the present scanning technologies used at security terminals.
Furthermore, because most materials have unique spectral identities in the terahertz range and can be easily recognized by authorities, Terahertz technology can identify dangerous elements from afar. Plastic, ceramics, and polymers are standard opaque components that are transparent in the terahertz region and can thus be detected using terahertz technology.
Terahertz technology is quickly gaining traction in 6G connectivity. Several efforts and research projects around the world have achieved milestones in favor of 6G development, particularly in the Terahertz (THz) band, since 2019. For example, at the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2021) in June 2020, researchers from Samsung Research, Samsung Research America, and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) demonstrated an end-to-end 140GHz wireless link using a fully-digital beamforming solution, demonstrating the potential impact of THz on 6G technology. Various countries are putting terahertz technology to the test in newer fields, such as space and astronomy, which will pave the way for commercialization.
Plastic welding, in particular, is supposed to produce a stable physical link between polymers if done correctly. Delamination and inclusions were not detected using ultrasonic waves or X-rays. On the other hand, THz waves expose both destructive and non-destructive fault types between polymers. THz technologies, such as THz time-domain spectroscopy, are also predicted to drive food quality control and applications in domains such as security scanning, material characterization, and historical and archaeological research.
In terms of detection of trace metals and minerals, terahertz transmission spectroscopy was also used, which demonstrated good agreement with the conventional characterization results. Overall, different industries can benefit from the distinctive advantages of THz technology due to its diverse uses. THz systems will likely become even more competitive as system resilience, measuring speed, and cost-efficiency increase.
North America is anticipated to hold the largest market share of USD 1,029 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 21.6% during the forecast period, primarily due to the rising homeland security issues, investments in defense, and increasing R&D. Europe is the second contributor to the terahertz technologies market, with revenue of USD 102 million in 2021. Early adopters of modern technology, government initiatives related to national security and counter-terrorism, and the need to protect against the growing threat of crime are propelling the industry.
Terahertz technologies market in Asia-Pacific is expected to witness steady growth with a value of USD 95 million in 2021. The market for terahertz technology-based equipment is being driven by an expansion in the number of manufacturing firms in countries like China and Japan and increased demand for explicit security measures in the medical and defense sectors. The rest of the World has the lowest market.
The key players in the global terahertz technologies market are