Is Terahertz a Communication Waste Land or a Vibrant Frontier?

March 30, 2015
3:00-4:00pm
Davis Auditorium, CEPSR
Speaker: Mau-Chung Frank Chang, Professor/Chairman, Electrical Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles

http://www.ee.columbia.edu/terahertz-communication-waste-land-or-vibrant-frontier

Abstract

The infamous “Terahertz Gap” represents frequency spectrum that ranges from 0.3 to 3THz (or 300 to 3000GHz). It lies between traditional microwave and infrared domains but remains “untouchable” via either electronic or photonic means. The conventional “transit-time-limited” electronic devices can hardly operate even at its lowest frequency; the “band-gap-limited” pho- tonic devices on the other hand can only operate beyond its highest fre- quency. Since wavelengths range from 1000 to 100 μm, Terahertz signals tend to behave quasi-optically and are potentially instrumental for a wide range of scientific and industrial applications. Those include high-data rate, short distance and secured wireless & wireline communications, telemetric and remote sensing based on high-resolution radar, spectrometer and im- agers for intelligent traffic/landing control, safety/security screening and bio-medical/food/drug sensing, and analysis and controls. In this talk, we will discuss fundamental & technical challenges involved in building Tera- hertz systems and progress made recently at UCLA to overcome electronic/photonic barriers for realizing highly integrated (sub)-mm-Wave and Terahertz systems.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Frank Chang is currently the Wintek Chair Professor and Chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department at UCLA. Before joining UCLA in 1997, he was the Assistant Di- rector and Department Manager of the High Speed Electronics Laboratory at the Rock- well Science Center, Thousand Oaks, California (1983-1997). Throughout his career, his research has primarily focused on developing high-speed semiconductor devices and circuits for high-frequency and mixed-signal communication, radar, interconnect and im- aging systems. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 and Aca- demia Sinica (Taiwan, ROC) in 2012. He is an IEEE Fellow and received the IEEE David Sarnoff Award in 2006 for developing and commercializing GaAs HBT power amplifiers for modern wireless communication systems (especially for cell phones).