The underlying terahertz vibrational spectrum of explosives solids

Using waveguide terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, we demonstrate the measurement of the underlying terahertz vibrational spectrum of the explosive solids hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine, and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. Each explosive is cast as a polycrystalline thin film with planar ordering on the inner surface of metal parallel plate waveguide. For measurements near 10K, each explosive reveals a complex spectrum of approximately 20 vibrational modes between 0.5 and 3.5THz. The explosive films are of sufficient quality to produce vibrational linewidths as much as an order of magnitude sharper compared to conventional terahertz measurements of corresponding pellet samples of explosives.