Antennas on metamaterial substrates as emitting components for THz biomedical imaging

Terahertz technology is considered a viable option for medical imaging, since many biological and chemical agents exhibit signatures in this spectral domain. Ultimately, large biomolecules and protein strands will be accessible, enabled by the coupling of THz science with near-field probes. In this paper, we present the recent advances of our research regarding a novel 2-D THz imaging system that it is intended to be used for imaging and characterization of tissue and biomolecule samples associated to brain functionality. Herein, we specifically focus on the emitting elements of the system, by studying two types of THz planar antennas for THz emission: a rectangular and a bow-tie patch antenna working at 1 THz. The aim and novelty of this work is to present an effective THz antenna with high gain and to this end we use left-handed materials for the substrate.