Lancaster University Emit Group

TERAHERTZ DEVICES AND APPLICATIONS

KEY FACTS

Devices

  • THz backward wave oscillators
  • THz vacuum tube amplifiers

Applications

  • security
  • healthcare
  • imaging

People involved

  • Five

Resources

  • 3D simulation tool
  • multi-core workstations
  • grid
  • high aspect ratio fabrication (to be realized)

Main journals

  • IEEE Trans. On Electron Devices
  • IEEE Trans. On Thz Science And Applications
  • International Journal Of Thz Science And Applications
  • Applied Physics

Main conferences

  • IVEC International Vacuum Electronics Conference
  • IRMMW-THZ Infrared, Millimeter Wave and THz
  • ICOPS - International Conference of Plasma Physics
  • UCMMT - UK/Europe China Millimetre Wave and THz application workshop

Why it is important

Terahertz radiation is the region of the frequency spectrum included in the range 100 GHz - 10000 GHz ( 100000000000 Hz to 10000000000000 Hz). THz frequencies

  • can penetrate cardboard, tissue, plastic
  • can detect property of the matter that no other frequency band can and permit to recognize dangerous and toxic substances
  • can discriminate the cancerous cells from the normal one, with great benefit for the cancer early diagnosis
  • have no known health issue due to the low energy level (1/1000000 with respect to X-ray)

No compact and low cost source are available for enabling the numerous applications in field such as security, healthcare, non destructive imaging, high speed data rate communications.

Our mission

  • Design and fabricate innovative compact and affordable THz vacuum tube sources with relative high output power
  • Implement new applications based on THz frequencies

What we did

  • The first 1 THz vacuum tube amplifier was realized in the frame of European Community OPTHER project. - 1 THz backward wave oscillators were design with an output power higher that 100 mW
  • Double corrugated waveguide: a novel interaction structure easy to realize and supporting a cylindrical electron beam - Analytical method for sub-millimetre and THz interaction structures

What we will do

  • Design and fabrication of THz sources - Innovative approach to improve the performance - Design and realization of imaging system for security, medicine and environment

Who we are looking for

Students that likes interdisciplinary approaches, full of initiative and ready to overcome new frontiers. Electronics, physics, electromagnetism, material science, chemistry are only some of the required backgrounds.