Counterfeit clothing and footwear costs designers and retailers billions of dollars every year, but with the help of scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) they now have developed a way to help fight textile counterfeiting.
The technique called terahertz time-domain spectroscopy uses a beam of terahertz radiation that when placed over a sample of fabric, the properties of the terahertz waves are detected after passing through the fabric. Different types of fabric give unique rates of beam scattering and absorption resulting in distinct transmission profile for each fabric type. The technique has been able to distinguish between fabrics that look and feel similar but had different compositions.
Read more about how terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is being used to help prevent fraud.
