Terahertz sensor research grows with new lab

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A new, high sensitivity terahertz camera could enable visibility in brown-out conditions, such as during sand storms and/or rotorcraft take-off and landing in desert environments. Terahertz sensors could monitor the purity and quality of pharmaceutical products while on the production line, and be used by consumers to identify unmarked pills. These are just two examples of the groundbreaking research that is ongoing and will continue to grow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s new center for research, testing and commercialization of terahertz sensors.

The Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering, an Ohio Third Frontier program, awarded Ohio State $3 million to establish the Hyperspectral Engine Lab for Integrated Optical Systems (HELIOS). Ohio State is providing an additional $5 million in cost-share funding for equipment and services.

Through HELIOS, researchers are exploring the still uncharted terahertz spectrum—a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum at frequencies between those of microwaves and infrared light—and are utilizing Ohio’s resources to develop smaller, faster and lower power terahertz devices.
    
“Terahertz is much like X-ray imaging as it can penetrate a wide variety of materials,” said John Volakis, director of the ElectroScience Laboratory and principal investigator of the Wright Center grant. “But it is far superior because it is not harmful to tissues and can reveal much more information.”

HELIOS’ research focus areas include terahertz wave imaging, active monitoring of electronics chips and pharmaceutical products for purity and quality control on the production line, diagnosing skin hydration for a variety of medical and cosmetic applications, and the next generation of radio frequency integrated circuits for high data rate proximity communications.

Kubilay Sertel, a research scientist at Ohio State’s ElectroScience Laboratory, is currently working with Traycer Diagnostic Systems Inc. to develop the first real-time, high sensitivity terahertz camera that will enable several critical imaging systems. Among these, the immediate applications include diagnosing skin hydration for a variety of medical and cosmetic applications; security screening through clothing and identification of explosive chemicals; enabling visibility in brown-out conditions, such as during sand storms and/or rotorcraft take-off and landing in desert environments; and high resolution subsurface imaging for packaging and quality control.

HELIOS is housed in the new ElectroScience Laboratory building, which just opened this year.

“Locating HELIOS at the ElectroScience Laboratory leverages Ohio State’s strong academic research base and engineering expertise in sensors and imaging, and capitalizes on existing investments in facilities, software and instrumentation,” Volakis said.

The investment in HELIOS is already paying off. Ohio State was been selected by the Office of Naval Research for a large Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI) grant to establish a new research program, “III-N Devices and Architectures for Terahertz Electronics (DATE).” The DATE program will explore the use of ultra fast gallium nitride semiconductor devices at unprecedented high frequencies above one terahertz. ECE professor Siddharth Rajan leads the Ohio State team, which includes Kubilay Sertel, John Volakis and Paul Berger. The Ohio State team is budgeted to receive $3 million in funding over five years and will work together with the lead institution, University of Notre Dame, and two other universities.

Three-year projections suggest that HELIOS could result in up to 62 new Ohio jobs created in addition to 16 academic research jobs.

The companies and organizations that are currently collaborating with the ElectroScience Laboratory in HELIOS are: The Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology (IDCAST), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Raytheon Co., Agilent Technologies, Inc., Lake Shore Cyrotronics, Inc., Photon-X, Traycer Diagnostic Systems Inc. and TeraView Ltd.

Article by Candice Clevenger, photos by Christopher Toothman. This story originally appear in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's 2010-2011 Annual Report.
Category: Research