Terahertz gap

In engineering, the terahertz gap is a frequency band in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum between radio waves and infrared light for which practical technologies for generating and detecting the radiation do not exist. It is defined as 0.1 to 10 THz (wavelengths of 3 mm to 30 µm) although the upper boundary is somewhat arbitrary and is considered by some sources as 30 THz (a wavelength of 10 µm).[1] Currently, at frequencies within this range, useful power generation and receiver technologies are inefficient and unfeasible.

Mass production of devices in this range and operation at room temperature (at which energy kT is equal to the energy of a photon with a frequency of 6.2 THz) are mostly impractical. This leaves a gap between mature microwave technologies in the highest frequencies of the radio spectrum and the well-developed optical engineering of infrared detectors in their lowest frequencies. This radiation is mostly used in small-scale, specialized applications such as submillimetre astronomy. Research that attempts to resolve this issue has been conducted since the late 20th century.[2][3][4][5][6]

Closure of the terahertz gap

Most vacuum electronic devices that are used for microwave generation can be modified to operate at terahertz frequencies, including the magnetron,[7] gyrotron,[8] synchrotron,[9] and free electron laser.[10] Similarly, microwave detectors such as the tunnel diode have been re-engineered to detect at terahertz[11] and infrared[12] frequencies as well. However, many of these devices are in prototype form, are not compact, or exist at university or government research labs, without the benefit of cost savings due to mass production.

Research

Ongoing investigation has resulted in improved emitters (sources) and detectors, and research in this area has intensified. However, drawbacks remain that include the substantial size of emitters, incompatible frequency ranges, and undesirable operating temperatures, as well as component, device, and detector requirements that are somewhere between solid state electronics and photonic technologies.[13][14][15]

Free-electron lasers can generate a wide range of stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation from microwaves, through terahertz radiation to X-ray. However, they are bulky, expensive and not suitable for applications that require critical timing (such as wireless communications). Other sources of terahertz radiation which are actively being researched include solid state oscillators (through frequency multiplication), backward wave oscillators (BWOs), quantum cascade lasers, and gyrotrons.

References
  1. Dhillon, S S; et al. (2017). "The 2017 terahertz science and technology roadmap". Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 50 (4): 2. doi:10.1088/1361-6463/50/4/043001.
  2. Gharavi, Sam; Heydari, Babak (25 September 2011). Ultra High-Speed CMOS Circuits: Beyond 100 GHz (1st ed.). New York: Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 1–5 (Introduction) and 100. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-0305-0. ISBN 978-1-4614-0305-0.
  3. Sirtori, Carlo (2002). "Bridge for the terahertz gap" (Free PDF download). Nature. Applied physics. 417 (6885): 132–133. Bibcode:2002Natur.417..132S. doi:10.1038/417132b. PMID 12000945. S2CID 4429711.
  4. Borak, A. (2005). "Toward bridging the terahertz gap with silicon-based lasers" (Free PDF download). Science. Applied physics. 308 (5722): 638–639. doi:10.1126/science.1109831. PMID 15860612. S2CID 38628024.
  5. Karpowicz, Nicholas; Dai, Jianming; Lu, Xiaofei; Chen, Yunqing; Yamaguchi, Masashi; Zhao, Hongwei; et al. (2008). "Coherent heterodyne time-domain spectrometry covering the entire terahertz gap". Applied Physics Letters (Abstract). 92 (1): 011131. Bibcode:2008ApPhL..92a1131K. doi:10.1063/1.2828709.
  6. Kleiner, R. (2007). "Filling the terahertz gap". Science (Abstract). 318 (5854): 1254–1255. doi:10.1126/science.1151373. PMID 18033873. S2CID 137020083.
  7. Larraza, Andres; Wolfe, David M.; Catterlin, Jeffrey K. (21 May 2013). "Terahertz (THZ) reverse magnetron". Dudley Knox Library. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. US Patent 8,446,096 B1.
  8. Glyavin, Mikhail; Denisov, Grigory; Zapevalov, V.E.; Kuftin, A.N. (August 2014). "Terahertz gyrotrons: State of the art and prospects". Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics. 59 (8): 792–797. doi:10.1134/S1064226914080075. S2CID 110854631. Retrieved 18 March 2020 – via researchgate.net.
  9. Evain, C.; Szwaj, C.; Roussel, E.; Rodriguez, J.; Le Parquier, M.; Tordeux, M.-A.; Ribeiro, F.; Labat, M.; Hubert, N.; Brubach, J.-B.; Roy, P.; Bielawski, S. (8 April 2019). "Stable coherent terahertz synchrotron radiation from controlled relativistic electron bunches". Nature Physics. 15 (7): 635–639. arXiv:1810.11805. Bibcode:2019NatPh..15..635E. doi:10.1038/s41567-019-0488-6. S2CID 53606555.
  10. "UCSB free electron laser source". www.mrl.ucsb.edu. Terahertz facility. University of California – Santa Barbara.
  11. "[no title cited]". ECS Transactions (abstract). The Electrochemical Society. 49 (1 ?): 93 ?. 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2020 – via IOP Science.
  12. Davids, Paul (1 July 2016). Tunneling rectification in an infrared nanoantenna coupled MOS diode. Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Meta 16. osti.gov. Malaga, Spain: U.S. Department of Energy.
  13. Ferguson, Bradley; Zhang, Xi-Cheng (2002). "Materials for terahertz science and technology" (free PDF download). Nature Materials. 1 (1): 26–33. Bibcode:2002NatMa...1...26F. doi:10.1038/nmat708. PMID 12618844. S2CID 24003436.
  14. Tonouchi, Masayoshi (2007). "Cutting-edge terahertz technology" (free PDF download). Nature Photonics. 1 (2): 97–105. Bibcode:2007NaPho...1...97T. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2007.3. 200902219783121992.
  15. Chen, Hou-Tong; Padilla, Willie J.; Cich, Michael J.; Azad, Abul K.; Averitt, Richard D.; Taylor, Antoinette J. (2009). "A metamaterial solid-state terahertz phase modulator" (free PDF download). Nature Photonics. 3 (3): 148. Bibcode:2009NaPho...3..148C. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.423.5531. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2009.3. OSTI 960853.

Further reading
  • Janet, Rae-Dupree (8 November 2011). "New life for old electrons in biological imaging, sensing technologies". SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (Press release). Palo Alto, California: Stanford University. ... researchers have successfully generated intense pulses of light in a largely untapped part of the electromagnetic spectrum – the so-called terahertz gap.
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