High power THz emitters for non-destructive testing, chemical analysis and imaging

太赫兹辐射(太赫兹，0.03-3毫米长的电磁波)具有许多独特的特性，使其在遥感、化学分析和质量监测方面特别有吸引力。太赫兹波被水强烈吸收，被金属反射，但很容易穿透纸张或塑料包装。此外，许多常见的材料在这个波长范围内都有明显的吸收“特征”。这不仅可以选择性地识别特定的材料，而且还可以获得关于其化学成分的有价值的信息。食品、制药、生物医药、化工、乳制品、安防等行业将从太赫兹技术的应用中受益匪浅。然而，目前，由于缺乏紧凑、强大和高效的太赫兹辐射源，实际应用中的太赫兹系统的发展受到了严重限制。本研究项目致力于基于创新的激光和半导体技术开发此类太赫兹发射体。这项工作将与太赫兹领域的一家领先的加拿大公司T-Ray Science Inc.密切合作完成。该项目的结果将使T-Ray Science能够开发用于光谱分析和成像的可靠且具有成本效益的THz系统。这将对为许多潜在的应用提供适当和负担得起的太赫兹技术作出重大贡献。

Terahertz radiation (THz, electromagnetic waves that are 0.03-3 mm long) has many unique properties that make it particularly attractive for remote sensing, chemical analysis and quality monitoring. THz waves are strongly absorbed by water, reflected by metal, but can easily penetrate paper or plastic packaging. In addition, many of the common materials have distinctive absorption "signatures" in this wavelength range. This make is possible not only to selectively identify specific materials, but also to obtain valuable information about their chemical composition. Industries such as food, pharmaceutical, biomedical, chemical, dairy, security, etc. will greatly benefit from applications of THz technology. At this moment, however, development of practical THz systems for real-world applications is severely limited by the lack of compact, powerful and efficient sources of this radiation. This research project is focused on the development of such THz emitters based on innovative laser and semiconductor technology. The work will be done in close collaboration with a leading Canadian company in the THz field, T-Ray Science Inc. The results of this project will enable T-Ray Science to develop reliable and cost-effective THz systems for spectroscopic analysis and imaging. This will make a significant contribution towards the availability of appropriate and affordable THz technology for many potential applications.