Significance of terahertz spectrometry for textile article of wool

We present a novel differentiation technique for several kinds of textile fabric using terahertz (THz) transmittance spectroscopy. Our goal is to establish a new method for identification of each of wools from their animal species, as a simple, rapid and reliable method to confront fake textile problem in the market. As demonstrations, several kinds of fabrics were milled at 77K, and were examined by using GaP THz spectrometer in the measurement range from 0.5 to 6.0 THz. The absorption spectra of wool showed quite different spectra from plant-derived fibers and synthetic fibers. Furthermore, the spectra of pure wools showed different transmittance spectra between goat-wool and sheep-wool, in addition among the species of sheep.