Integrated millimeter-wave/terahertz smart structures

想象一下，像移动的手机这样的便携式设备，除了它们今天所做的任何事情之外，还可以扫描和看到盒子里看不见的物体，可以感知好药和劣药之间的区别，可以立即区分良性皮肤病变和恶性癌细胞，并且可以在一瞬间将这些图片或信息发送到另一个移动终端！这些和许多其他功能，这些天看起来像小说，只是一个特定范围的电磁波频谱，称为“毫米波和太赫兹（mmW/THz）”可以提供给我们的一些能力，如果可以开发正确类型的技术。毫米波/太赫兹波段位于较低的射频（RF）和光之间，具有两个世界的最佳：RF的穿透能力和光学的短波长分辨率。这一频段为安全成像（而不是危险的X射线），传感，检测复杂的生物分子和药物，极端带宽的无线电通信提供了许多独特的机会，并提供了可以将无线电天文学家带回几乎“起源”的足迹。特殊的THz市场（通信、医疗、安全、制造等）预计到2020年将达到数十亿美元。尽管在过去的几十年里，许多这些惊人的性质和可能性已经被人们所知，但实际应用主要局限于国防，空间研究和科学光谱学的非常复杂和昂贵的实验配置。这项研究的主要目标是研究低成本技术，这些技术可以将这些惊人的功能带到大众市场的商业设备中。基于mmW/THz技术的最新进展和先前的研究成果，申请人及其团队一直在为许多通信和传感/成像应用开发低成本集成mmW/THz器件和系统解决方案。基于这种经验，并且利用滑铁卢大学的世界级mmW/THz设施的可用性，申请人的小组提出探索和开发用于这种最少发现的电磁波范围的真实的生活应用的通用集成技术平台。

Imagine portable devices like mobile phone, in addition to whatever they do today, can scan and see the invisible objects inside a box, can sense the difference between a good and bad drug, can distinguish between a benign skin lesion and a malign cancerous cell instantly, and can send this picture or information to another mobile device in a split second! These and a many other functions, which may seem like fiction these days, are just some of the capabilities that a particular range of electromagnetic wave spectrum, called "Millimeter-wave and Terahertz (mmW/THz)" can offer to us if the right type of technology can be developed. Sitting between lower radio frequency (RF) and light, mmW/THz band has the best of both worlds: penetration capability of RF, and short-wavelength resolution of optics. This band of frequencies offer a number of unique opportunities for safe imaging (as opposed to dangerous X-ray), sensing, detecting complex bio-molecules and drugs, extreme bandwidth radio communications, and provide foot prints that can take radio-astronomers back in time almost to the "Origin". Extraordinary THz markets (communication, medicine, security, manufacturing, etc.) are forecasted to reach $billions by 2020. Although many of these amazing properties and possibilities have been known over last few decades, the practical applications were mainly restricted to very complex and costly experimental configurations for defense, space research, and scientific spectroscopy. The main objective of the proposed research is to investigate low-cost technologies that can bring these amazing capabilities to mass market commercial devices. Built on recent advances in mmW/THz technologies and prior research results, the applicant and his group have been developing low-cost integrated mmW/THz device and system solutions for a number of communication and sensing/imaging applications. Based on this experience and with the availability of a world class mmW/THz facility at the University of Waterloo, the applicant's group proposes to explore and develop a common integrated technology platform for real life applications of this least discovered range of electromagnetic waves.