A device and method of detecting and analyzing a vital field places a thin film tunneling barrier in the path of vital waves in the vital field. The vital waves pass through the high resistivity thin film electrodes into the tunneling barrier and interfere with the electron tunneling process in the tunneling barrier. Control circuitry and a pulse generator drive the device at a known sampling frequency. The interference produces a beat frequency that is output from the tunneling barrier. By adjusting the sample rate by a known amount, a second beat frequency is produced and the beat frequency shift is used to determine the input frequency of the vital waves. The vital waves are very weak and produce frequencies into the terahertz range, so that the input frequency is undersampled by the device. A circuit is designed to maintain a reasonable cost using currently available technology.
