Anisotropic terahertz microspectrosopy (ATM) has found applications in structural biology and molecular fingerprinting of DNA and proteins. The technique is also suitable for drug discovery and studying THz frequency properties of thin film solid state materials. 
Special attention is given to molecular motions in proteins where many structural changes occur at frequencies in the terahertz range of the spectrum (0.3 THz to 3 THz). These structural changes include hinge motions in which two regions of molecules are connected together by a flexible molecular structure that bends like a mechanical hinge or elbow. ATM is uniquely capable of measuring the spatial direction in which hinge motions occur because of its use of linearly polarized electric fields.