Dr. Daniel Mittleman from Rice University shares his thoughts with blog readers on the Commercialization of Terahertz

My Note: The recognized spokesman for the Terahertz Community is Dr. Daniel Mittleman from Rice University. He is also one of the most helpful, and friendly people I have communicated with regarding THz.  Thank you Dr. Mittleman for once again sharing your thoughts.

Hi Randy,

So, I've been thinking a lot these days about the topic of commercialization of terahertz technologies.  I believe that the commercial growth of the field is really at a turning point right now, for several reasons.

First, let me explain why I think this.

One reason is the number of companies who are active and visible in the field.  To give you an example, I'll describe the growth in one particular trade show, which I think is something of a bellwether.  The show associated with the IRMMW-THz conference series has never been particularly large.  This conference series has been around for nearly 40 years, and for almost all of that time, there was either no trade show at all or a pretty small one.  But, the growth in recent years has been astounding.  In 2008, there were 11 companies at the exhibit.  In 2010, there were 19.  This year in Mainz, there were 31.  I am very interested to see what the turnout will be this fall in Tucson (www.irmmw-thz2014.org).

I think that all of this excitement is the result of the confluence of several factors.  First, there have been a number of technical breakthroughs which have really had a big impact.  Things like the development of terahertz quantum cascade lasers, the advances of CMOS electronics into the terahertz domain, and the continued progress in the packaging and cost reductions for femtosecond lasers have all contributed to real progress and optimism.  Second, it seems as if the level of awareness of the potential impact of these technologies has reached a critical mass.  We are needing to explain what is terahertz radiation less and less, because more and more people seem to know.  And thirdly, there is a growing recognition among industry experts that terahertz technologies will be truly necessary in the not-too-distant future in a number of areas, like for example for short-range high-bandwidth wireless communications. 

All of this interest is translating into action.  The IEEE has recently converted their terahertz Interest Group to a Study Group, with the charge of beginning the process of developing standards.  The Federal Communications Commission is now considering a petition to develop rules for technologies using radiation above 95 GHz.  All in all, it is an exciting time to be involved.

Happy holidays, and regards,

Dan

MY Postscript: I followed up my questions with Dr. Mittleman for his specific thoughts on the role time-domain terahertz will play in the commercialization of THz. He was kind enough to provide these follow-up comments:

I'm pretty confident that there are things the time-domain systems can do that no other technique will ever duplicate - things that exploit the very large bandwidth (e.g., broadband spectroscopy or time-of-flight imaging measurements) and things that require signals above 1 THz (CMOS will probably never get up much above 1 THz).

                           Happy Holidays!