A silicon-based terahertz near-field imaging array for ex vivo life-science applications - Phase 2

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The project's main objective is to leverage silicon-based economies-of-scale for a technology breakthrough in life-science. The aim is to develop a silicon-based THz sub-wavelength imager for tumor margin identification and the results of this interdisciplinary research proposal will help a surgeon to make an instantaneous (intraoperative) decision during an oncological surgery - substantially improving the quality-of-life of a patient. The challenging objective of NearSense requires major innovations in an inter-disciplinary research field. The NearSense research is, therefore, conducted by an interdisciplinary team of physicists, oncologic surgeons, histopathologists and engineers. The scientific breakthrough in the first phase was achieved by a fully-integrated THz near-field sensor pixel comprising of a THz source (transmitter), an electromagnetic near-field sensor element (transducer), a THz detector (receiver) including the readout thereof. The THz near-field sensor pixel provided the dielectric properties (complex permittivity) of bio cells on the micrometer scale. The projects second phase leverages silicon-technologies to integrate large 2-D arrays with real-time acquisition capability to provide a surgeon with high resolution THz video analysis during an oncological surgery. NearSense exploits the benefits of the terahertz radiation with the required sub-wavelength optical resolution for intraoperative bio imaging without the need for scanning.