title: Measurement of the transmission of the atmosphere from 0.2 to 2 THz.
abstract: The attenuation of electromagnetic wave propagation in the clear atmosphere from low frequencies up to 2 THz is mainly caused by water vapor. Although there have been many numerical simulations and excellent early sub-mm and far-infrared measurements of this attenuation, there has remained controversy about the background absorption in the most promising windows of transparency below 1 THz. Here, we report an accurate terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) characterization of water vapor from 0.2 to 2 THz. Our results agree with the previous predicted and measured attenuations for the weak water lines, but show more attenuation for the relatively transparent windows between these lines.
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA.
authors.forename: Yihong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Alisha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shutler
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grischkowsky
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D055068:Terahertz Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*