X-ray phones?

Researchers at UT Dallas have designed an imager chip that could turn mobile phones into devices that can see through walls, wood, plastics, paper and other objects, The Times of India reports.

The team's research linked two scientific advances. One involves tapping into an unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum. The other is a new microchip technology.

Slash Gear reports that the electromagnetic spectrum researchers used is the terahertz band that falls between infrared and microwave.

That terahertz band has traditionally been inaccessible to normal consumer devices. The sensors the team devised can take images with signals created using the terahertz range without having to use lenses inside the device.

That development allows the devices to be smaller.

The CMOS-based chip can detect frequencies in the terahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum, without needing special lenses to work, the researchers explained, V3.co.uk writes.

“The combination of CMOS and terahertz means you could put this chip and receiver on the back of a cellphone, turning it into a device carried in your pocket that can see through objects,” said Kenneth O, professor of electrical engineering at the university.