TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL & FRANKFURT UNIVERSITY, FRANKFURT, GERMANY. (CMOS) Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor chips with radiation capabilities that can see through clothing and packaging. They will produce images of what could possibly be hidden underneath. This could be the start of a sophisticated yet affordable and portable detection system that can meet daily security needs.

The current advanced security technology is bulky and very costly. It is mostly utilized in airport scanning systems. NASA even employs this technology for space exploratin. A need for a practical security technology that is small and affordable is needed to meet the security demands on a daily basis.

Dr. Eran Socher of Tel Aviv University and team of researchers at Frankfurt University has developed a sophisticated chip that can meet the demands mentioned. The CMOS chips are mass-produced for mobile phones and computers. A new integrated circuit that is affordable is a great solution since its size is only 0.5 mm by 0.5 mm. It has an antenna that receives and transmits millimeter wave or terahertz radiation. Combining this chip with an electronic scanning technology produces a radiation that can result to images.

It is designed to see through materials like luggage, clothing, envelopes and stops at the human skin. It works with lower radiation levels than those mobile devices. Thus, circumventing health issues. It produces more accurate images of concealed objects which makes it better than metal detectors that are not sensitive and specific.

A great advantage of this chip is that its high-speed communications can operate at high frequencies even at a range of a few meters. The rate of data ranges from 1 to 10 gigabytes per second. It can then transfer an uncompressed file of a high-definition video from a mobile devide to a screen within seconds wirelessly. This kind of security technology is applicable and very beneficial to public spaces like malls, bus stations, train stations and stadiums.