{"676511":{"#nid":"676511","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Citrin\u2019s Terahertz Imaging Technology Speeds Up Bulk Document Scanning","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe typically tedious and monotonous job of scanning documents is getting a bit easier, thanks to new research from Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (ECE) Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/david-s-citrin\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Citrin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent bulk digital scanners can accept stacks of unsorted documents, but the task would be greatly sped up if the scanner could know how many sheets of paper are in the stack and if paper clips, staples, or other obstructions are present before the automated sorting began.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team, which includes co-authors Min Zhai, a recently graduated ECE Ph.D. student now at Shenzhen University, China, and ECE Adjunct Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/photonics.georgiatech-metz.fr\/node\/25\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlexandre Locquet\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, recently won the European Optical Society (EOS) Prize for this research in their paper, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/377529351_Terahertz_Nondestructive_Stratigraphic_Reconstruction_of_Paper_Stacks_Based_on_Adaptive_Sparse_Deconvolution\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201cTerahertz Nondestructive Stratigraphic Reconstruction of Paper Stacks Based on Adaptive Sparse Deconvolution.\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECitrin, who joined ECE in 2001, is a renowned expert in Terahertz (THz) technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe idea for the research was born out of a problem faced by numerous companies and government agencies: scanning warehouses full of legacy documents and other important paper records,\u201d said Citrin,\u0026nbsp;who conducts his research both at the Atlanta Campus and out of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/europe.gatech.edu\/en\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech-Europe\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (GT-E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECitrin and his \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/photonics.georgiatech-metz.fr\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETerahertz Laboratory\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E team used time-domain THz\u0026nbsp;techniques with advanced signal processing to count the number of sheets in a stack of paper and simultaneously measure the thicknesses of the paper sheets in a nondestructive and noncontact fashion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETHz electromagnetic waves are high frequency waves equal to a trillion hertz with wavelengths ranging from three millimeters down to 30 micrometers long between 100 GHz and 10 THz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe process works by sending a short THz pulse onto a stack of paper and then looking at the various time-delayed \u201cechoes\u201d reflected from individual sheets of paper in the stack. Using applied signal-processing approaches they were able to obtain the desired information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSo far, we\u2019ve been able to count sheets of paper in stacks of up to 20 but are working on increasing that number,\u201d said Citrin. \u201cThe end goal is to one day incorporate 3D terahertz imaging capability into future-generation paper-sorting technologies at a much larger scale.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe and his team will receive the award at the EOS Annual Meeting on September 13, 2024, in Naples, Italy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe\u2019s previously utilized THz imaging to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/imaging-technique-unlocks-secrets-17th-century-artists\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ereveal the secrets\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of 17th-century artists by peering through layers of pigment and to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/terahertz-imaging-reveals-hidden-inscription-early-modern-funerary-cross\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Elook beneath\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E the corroded surface of a 16th-century lead funerary cross.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe research completed out of the Terahertz Laboratory has the potential to count and measure stacks of paper in a fraction of the time of current scanners\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The research completed out of the Terahertz Laboratory has the potential to count and measure stacks of paper in a fraction of the time of current scanners"}],"uid":"36558","created_gmt":"2024-09-04 15:02:01","changed_gmt":"2024-09-04 15:25:26","author":"zwiniecki3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674812":{"id":"674812","type":"image","title":"AdobeStock_111039975.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1725462026","gmt_created":"2024-09-04 15:00:26","changed":"1725462026","gmt_changed":"2024-09-04 15:00:26","alt":"Paper","file":{"fid":"258375","name":"AdobeStock_111039975.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/04\/AdobeStock_111039975.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/04\/AdobeStock_111039975.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3283884,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/09\/04\/AdobeStock_111039975.jpeg?itok=8k0Aubx7"}}},"media_ids":["674812"],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EZachary Winiecki\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["zwiniecki3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}