Terahertz chip breakthrough offers a new way of seeing through matter

February 14, 2017 // By Jean-Pierre Joosting
Electromagnetic pulses lasting one millionth of a millionth of a second may hold the key to advances in medical imaging, communications and drug development. To this end, researchers at Princeton University have drastically shrunk much of the elaborate and expensive equipment traditionally required by moving from a tabletop setup with lasers and mirrors to a pair of microchips small enough to fit on a fingertip.

In two articles recently published in the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, the researchers describe one microchip that can generate terahertz waves, and a second chip that can capture and read intricate details of these waves.

"The system is realized in the same silicon chip technology that powers all modern electronic devices from smartphones to tablets, and therefore costs only a few dollars to make on a large scale" said lead researcher Kaushik Sengupta, a Princeton assistant professor of electrical engineering.

Terahertz waves, which sit between the microwave and infrared light wavebands features unique characteristics that make them interesting to science. For one, they pass through most non-conducting material, so they could be used to peer through clothing or boxes for security purposes, and because they have less energy than X-rays, they don't damage human tissue or DNA.

Terahertz waves also interact in distinct ways with different chemicals, so they can be used to characterize specific substances. Known as spectroscopy, the ability to use light waves to analyze material is one of the most promising – and the most challenging – applications of terahertz technology, Sengupta said.