Book excerpt: The purpose of this book is two-fold. First, the various different methods of accessing the THz range are discussed, with a view to convince the reader that there have been qualitative and significant improvements over older, more conventional techniques. The text makes it clear that these improvements enable practical "real-world" applications of THz technology, in a manner which would not have been possible before. Second, the demonstrations and feasibility tests described serve as compelling evidence of the utility of such devices. Due to the unique characteristics of THz radiation and its interaction with materials, these devices have substantial advantages over other competing technologies in a number of different areas.