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Active Quasi-Optics for High-Power THz Science

用于高功率太赫兹科学的有源准光学

基本信息

批准号：
EP/K038125/1
负责人：
Rostyslav Dubrovka
金额：
$ 59.27万
依托单位：
Queen Mary University of London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2014
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2014 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FK038125%2F1
关键词：
Active Quasi Optics Power THz

项目摘要

Light is the most familiar manifestation of an electromagnetic wave. These waves extend continuously from radio and TV transmissions, through mobile communications and WiFi, to microwaves, infrared, light, an finally to ultraviolet and X-rays. For many of these waves, compact, high power, room temperature sources have been developed: the microwave oven and the laser are everyday examples. One part of this spectrum, the terahertz region, which lies between the microwave and infrared wavelengths, is technologically challenging as regards providing sources. Transistor devices, as used for radio, are not able to switch fast enough, and fundamental physics limits the power of sources that are bright in the infrared and optical regions. Our proposal aims to provide a source that will be compact, efficient, operate at room temperature in air, and which will be more powerful and cheaper than alternatives.Realisation of the source will enable new science and facilitate technology developments. High power terahertz waves can be used in biochemistry, the new field of bio-electromagnetics, and in chemical synthesis where the application of the terahertz wave affects the way that a chemical reaction proceeds. Higher power is needed for pulsed radars, for example future ground and spaceborne cloud radars that will provide input to national Met Offices and climate modellers. There are also potential military, security and industrial applications, where the possibility to transmit power through an absorbing material may be critical. This is the basis of scanners found at airports, where terahertz radiation is not believed to be a risk to public health associated with the ionising radiation from x-ray alternatives. How will the source be made? The novel approach depends on microscopic semiconductor devices, called Schottky diodes, which are designed specifically to generate harmonics of an input frequency. In other words, the output wave is a distortion of the input. We shall specifically design dual purpose antennas for use with these diodes. These novel antennas (which we have called "Multennas" - multiplying antennas) will receive an input signal from a lower frequency illuminating source antenna, couple it to the Schottky diode, and then preferentially retransmit the desired harmonic. As each diode can only handle a small amount of power, it will be necessary to combine the outputs of many diodes to create a powerful source. The proposed way is to pattern an array of flat antennas on a plate of terahertz dielectric material, and to solder the Schottky diodes in place. The driving terahertz waves will arrive through the plate, and the total emitted wave will be the sum of the contributions of tens or hundreds of elements. Design and fabrication of the "Multennas" is challenging precision work, and sophisticated software, dedicated apparatus and expertise is needed. Scientists and engineers from two of the UK's leading research institutes, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), have joined forces to tackle the terahertz source problem. A team of experienced personnel at QMUL, who possess the antenna design skills and test facilities, will undertake these aspects of the project. An initial challenge will be to improve existing software to be able to model novel multenna structures. At RAL, where the team specialises in the production of world class Schottky diode devices, bespoke diodes will be designed, fabricated and mounted to the antennas on the supporting plate. Other scientists at QMUL will add tiny light-activated tuning devices to the array, made of a novel plastic whose properties can be changed by light. These tuners are needed to improve the performance as a whole, and to compensate for inevitable variations between the individual Schottky devices. The same material will be used to introduce tuneability to other elements in the network of the novel source.

光是电磁波最常见的表现形式。这些波从无线电和电视传输，通过移动通信和WiFi，一直延伸到微波、红外线、光，最后延伸到紫外线和X射线。对于这些波中的许多，已经开发出紧凑、高功率的室温源：微波炉和激光是日常生活中的例子。这种光谱的一部分，位于微波和红外波长之间的太赫兹区域，在提供光源方面具有技术挑战性。用于无线电的晶体管设备不能切换得足够快，而且基本物理限制了红外和光学区域明亮的光源的功率。我们的建议旨在提供一种紧凑、高效、在室温空气中运行、比替代能源更强大和更便宜的能源。能源的再利用将促进新的科学和技术发展。高功率太赫兹波可用于生物化学，生物电磁学的新领域，以及在化学合成中应用太赫兹波影响化学反应进行的方式。脉冲雷达需要更高的功率，例如未来的地面和星载云雷达将为国家气象局和气候模型提供输入。还有潜在的军事、安全和工业应用，通过吸收材料传输电力的可能性可能是至关重要的。这是在机场发现的扫描仪的基础，在机场，太赫兹辐射被认为不会与来自x射线替代品的电离辐射相关的公共健康风险。消息来源将是如何产生的？这种新的方法依赖于被称为肖特基二极管的微型半导体器件，这种器件专门设计来产生输入频率的谐波。换句话说，输出波形是输入的失真。我们将专门设计与这些二极管配合使用的两用天线。这些新型天线(我们称之为多频天线)将接收来自低频照明源天线的输入信号，将其耦合到肖特基二极管，然后优先重发所需的谐波。由于每个二极管只能处理很小的功率，因此需要将多个二极管的输出组合在一起来创建一个强大的电源。建议的方法是在太赫兹介质材料板上形成平面天线阵列，并将肖特基二极管焊接到位。驱动太赫兹波将通过板块到达，总发射的波将是数十或数百个元素贡献的总和。“MultenNas”的设计和制造是具有挑战性的精密工作，需要复杂的软件、专用设备和专业知识。来自英国两个领先研究机构--伦敦玛丽女王大学(QMUL)和STFC卢瑟福·阿普尔顿实验室(RAL)--的科学家和工程师已经联手解决太赫兹源问题。QMUL拥有天线设计技能和测试设施的经验丰富的人员团队将承担该项目的这些方面。最初的挑战将是改进现有的软件，使其能够对新的多天线结构进行建模。在RAL，该团队专门生产世界级肖特基二极管器件，定制的二极管将被设计、制造并安装到支撑板上的天线上。QMUL的其他科学家将在阵列中添加微型光控调谐设备，该设备由一种新型塑料制成，其特性可以随光改变。需要这些调谐器来提高整体性能，并补偿各个肖特基器件之间不可避免的差异。同样的材料将被用来将可调谐性引入到新来源的网络中的其他元素。