OT- LUNA Blog-Fiber Optic Sensing for Very High Temperatures

Fiber optic sensing continues to grow as a valuable temperature measurement tool, thanks to the fiber’s small diameter, small mass and robust operation in harsh environments.  The nuclear industry, for example, has shown interest in fiber optic sensors for very high temperature applications, such as monitoring fuel performance during irradiation or even embedding fiber in commercial reactor components.

One option to further extend the temperature range of fiber optic sensors is single crystal sapphire optical fiber (α-Al₂O₃), due to its very high melting temperature (in excess of 2000 °C). However, there are certain problems that need to be overcome for most sensing techniques to work. For example, with Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR), utilized by Luna’s OBR 4600, the multimode nature of sapphire optical fiber distorts the measurement by introducing additional modes in the fiber. Another issue is that the sapphire single crystal fiber has almost perfect crystal structure, therefore, the Rayleigh backscatter signal level is too low to perform the OFDR-based sensing.

Scan of OBR 4600 shows the detection of Rayleigh backscatter of the sapphire fiber above the noise floor.

However, researchers from Ohio State University, working with Luna’s OBR 4600, are developing a solution that could lead to sapphire fiber sensors for high temperature sensing.  The researchers discovered that sapphire fiber can be cladded through the reaction of ⁶₃Li(n,α)₁³H in a reactor.  High energy alpha particles and tritons slightly modify the index of refraction of sapphire in its periphery, making it single-mode in nature. Moreover, the fast neutrons interaction with the fiber core induce displacement damage throughout the fiber. The defects formed from these interactions create a Rayleigh backscatter signal of a high enough level to be detected by the OBR 4600, which has the noise floor at -130 dB.  The scatter sites anneal out at the temperatures exceeding 300 °C, however, there is a potential of measurements up to 1500 °C with type-II Bragg gratings written in a sapphire fiber.

More details on OSU’s research can be found published in the IEEE Sensors Journal.

NSF awards $675,000 to advance Ohio State terahertz research

https://engineering.osu.edu/news/2018/01/nsf-awards-675000-advance-ohio-state-terahertz-research

Between the infrared and microwave sections of the electromagnetic spectrum, lies the terahertz window, a largely untapped portion of energy with the potential to reveal a variety of unknowns—from hidden weapons to the thickness of paint to next-generation Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.

Faculty at The Ohio State University ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) recently earned a total of $675,000 in research and commercialization support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further their terahertz sensor development.

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Professor Kubilay Sertel won a three-year $450,000 NSF grant for his research proposal, “Compact Polarimetric THz Sensor for Reflectometric Imaging.”

Sertel’s commercialization efforts also received the NSF Small Business Innovation Research grant for $225,000 to develop automated and non-invasive testing of high frequency integrated circuits, spearheaded by his startup TeraProbes, Inc.

Kubilay Sertel, Nandhini Srinivasan and Niru Nahar

Regarding these separate research efforts, Sertel said the NSF funding will help his team advance polarimetric terahertz-frequency next-generation imaging by developing a compact and portable sensor for studying brain tissue, ultimately demonstrating an alternative imaging modality for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Sertel’s team previously validated the need for such a polarimetric sensor through the work of ESL Graduate Research Associate Nandhini Srinivasan, whose proposal won third-place at the 2017 IEEE APS/URSI San Diego Symposium Student Paper Contest.

“We conducted the initial study to validate the hypothesis that the elongated structures in the human brain are actually polarization sensitive. Now, we have to make a stand-alone sensor that can differentiate both polarizations, simultaneously, in a terahertz signal reflecting from a human tissue sample,” Sertel said. “That’s the ultimate goal, to identify the features and boundaries between the different components of human tissue.”

Joining Sertel on this team is Ohio State Research Assistant Professor Niru Nahar and former Ohio State pathology professor Norman Lehman, now at the University of Louisville, where he will continue his collaboration.

“Dr. Lehman is going to provide the tissue samples and the associated microscope images,” Sertel said.

The team proposes creating a fully-polarimetric THz sensor and associated THz-spectroscopic polarimetry tools, which they say will “usher in new sensing and imaging applications in the much-needed areas of biomedical sensing, chemical spectroscopy and pharmaceutical evaluation, to name a few."

Once it is fully developed, Sertel said, an entirely new modality for THz spectroscopy and imaging is possible, for the first time, by harnessing the polarization properties of THz waves. The proposed work creates a laboratory-scale spectroscopy tool that can be incorporated into the academic curriculum to serve as a hands-on experimentation and training testbed to inspire students to pursue an education in the STEM fields.

Meanwhile, the NSF Small Business Innovation Research grant is scheduled to assist Sertel’s commercialization activity for TeraProbes, Inc., as it seeks to transform the current electronics chip testing industry, opening up new research areas and offering an immediate benefit to the entire semiconductor industry.

The first phase of NSF funding for TeraProbes, Sertel said, includes the creation of a Business Development Commercialization Strategy, as well as research to create the fully-automated version of TeraProbes’ non-contact probe station.

TeraProbes, Inc. fabricated three probe stations through a seed grant from the State of Ohio Department of Development. These units were transferred to other universities, such as Arizona State University and are on loan to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in Boulder, CO.

“Each unit is being evaluated in the industry to see how it impacts key issues in their work,” Sertel said.

The NSF SBIR funding also enables TeraProbes to hire two new team members and work with processional design engineering teams at the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME)—a manufacturing, engineering and commercialization center at Ohio State.

Contributed by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar

This powerful one-ton laser, capable of firing dozens of pulses a second, gives researchers a new way to detect tiny amounts of hazardous gases from up to one kilometer away, and under normal atmospheric pressure -- something that wasn't thought possible before. Credit: Henry Everitt, U.S. Army and Duke University.

 http://phys.org/news/2014-12-laser-toxic-gases-afar.html#jCp

Scientists have developed a way to sniff out tiny amounts of toxic gases—a whiff of nerve gas, for example, or a hint of a chemical spill—from up to one kilometer away.

The new technology can discriminate one type of gas from another with greater specificity than most remote sensors—even in complex mixtures of similar chemicals—and under normal atmospheric pressure, something that wasn't thought possible before.

The researchers say the technique could be used to test for radioactive byproducts from nuclear accidents or arms control treaty violations, for example, or for remote monitoring of smokestacks or factories for signs of air pollution or chemical weapons.

"You could imagine setting this up around the perimeter of an area where soldiers are living, as a kind of trip wire for nerve gas," said lead author Henry Everitt, an Army scientist and adjunct professor of physics at Duke University.

The technique uses a form of invisible light called terahertz radiation, or T-rays.

Already used to detect tumors and screen airport passengers, T-rays fall between microwaves and infrared radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum.

Zapping a gas molecule with a terahertz beam of just the right energy makes the molecule switch between alternate rotational states, producing a characteristic absorption spectrum "fingerprint," like the lines of a bar code.

Terahertz sensors have been used for decades to identify trace gases in the dry, low-pressure conditions of interstellar space or in controlled conditions in the lab, where they are capable of unambiguous identification and ultra-sensitive, part-per-trillion detection.

But until now, efforts to use the same technique to detect trace gases under normal atmospheric conditions have failed because the pressure and water vapor in the air smears and weakens the spectral fingerprint.

In a study published in the journal Physical Review Applied, Everitt, Ohio State University physicist Frank De Lucia and colleagues have developed a way around this problem.

Their approach works by blasting a cloud of gas with two beams at once. One is a steady terahertz beam, tuned to the specific rotational transition energy of the gas molecule they're looking for.

The second beam comes from a laser, operating in the infrared, which emits light in high-speed pulses.

At the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center near Huntsville, Alabama, the researchers have installed a one-of-a-kind infrared laser.

Manufactured by a company called STI Optronics, it's capable of firing dozens of pulses of infrared light a second, each of which is less than a billionth-of-a-second long.

"It's kind of like whacking a molecule with an infrared sledgehammer," Everitt said.

Normal atmospheric pressure still blurs the chemical "bar code" produced by the blast of the Terahertz beam, but the ultra-short pulses of light from the more powerful infrared laser knock the molecule out of equilibrium, causing the smeared absorption lines to flicker.

"We just have to tune each beam to the wavelengths that match the type of molecule we're looking for, and if we see a change, we know it has to be that gas and nothing else," Everitt said.

The researchers directed the two beams onto samples of methyl fluoride, methyl chloride and methyl bromide gases in the lab to determine what combination of laser settings would be required to detect trace amounts of these gases under different weather conditions.

"Terahertz waves will only propagate so far before water vapor in the air absorbs them, which means the approach works a lot better on, say, a cold winter day than a hot summer day," Everitt said.

The researchers say they are able to detect trace gases from up to one kilometer away. But even under ideal weather conditions, the technology isn't ready to be deployed in the field just yet.

For one, converting an eight-foot, one-ton laser into something closer in size to a briefcase will take some time.

Having demonstrated that the technique can work, their next step is to figure out how to tune the beams to detect additional gases.

Initially, they plan to focus on toxic industrial chemicals such as ammonia, carbon disulfide, nitric acid and sulfuric acid.

Eventually, the researchers say their technique could also be useful for law enforcement in detecting toxic gases generated by meth labs, and other situations where detection at the gas's source isn't feasible.

"Point sensing at close range is always better than remote sensing if you can do it, but it's not always possible. These methods let us collect chemical intelligence that tells us what's going on before we get somewhere," Everitt said.

 Explore further: NIST 'combs' the atmosphere to measure greenhouse gases

More information: "Design and signature analysis of remote trace-gas identification methodology based on infrared-terahertz double-resonance spectroscopy," Tanner, E., et al. Physical Review Applied, 2014. dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.2.054016

Ohio State spinoff TeraProbes seeks to disrupt chip-testing market

Enlarge Photo

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/10/ohio-state-spinoff-teraprobes-seeks-to-disrupt.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+columbus_blog+%28Columbus+Biz+Insider%29&page=2

Ohio State University

Kubilay Sertel says he's come up with a faster, cheaper process for testing silicon computer chips.

Carrie Ghose

Staff reporter-Columbus Business First

Email  

An Ohio State University spinoff is using part of a $100,000 Ohio Third Frontier grant to build more prototypes for a try-it-you'll-like-it approach to disrupting a monopoly in testing silicon computer chips.

TeraProbes Inc. has one working prototype and will build two more of a system that uses terahertz waves, which are just below infrared in frequency, to send and receive signals to test the performance of tiny transistors on the silicon wafers. It will then lend those to prospective customers.

A single vendor now controls the market for the testing, said Kubilay Sertel, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

"We're trying to disrupt that," he said, with a process that's faster, cheaper and doesn't damage the chips themselves as the current method does.

It sounds like going from monks with fountain pens to a photocopier: Today, a Ph.D. researcher uses a physical probe, just 25 microns across, to touch the chip under a microscope, on specialized vibration-control equipment. Both probe and chip typically are damaged by the contact.

"Our system, you can set it up on your coffee table," Sertel said. "It's much quicker. It can be completely automated."

Ohio State on Friday named Sertel the early career innovator of the year in its annual research awards. Innovator of the year was Dr. Ali Rezai, a neurosurgeon who has pioneered methods of deep brain stimulation and started many spinoff device companies. The student innovator is David Maung, a doctoral student in computer science and engineering who developed a video game for use in physical therapy for paralysis in one side of the body.

Sertel's research in terahertz imaging also formed the base technology for the camera-like device of Traycer Systems Inc., which has attracted some $7.5 million in investor support. He does not have a stake or active role in that company.

Sertel is president of TeraProbes, which will be able to collect the Third Frontier grant awarded in June, when the licensing deal with Ohio State gets finalized in the next few weeks.

The executive team, two university faculty and a doctoral student, are trying to recruit one of their business advisers as CEO.

The company has projected $6 million in revenue within three years.

"The TeraProbes concept should enable faster quality testing and lower cost and should be available at a time when the market demand is increasing," outside evaluators said in a report to the Third Frontier Commission.

Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering Announces Grant Completion - See more at: http://www.csuohio.edu/news/wright-center-for-sensor-systems-engineering-announces-grant-completion#sthash.PkhPGilG.dpuf

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=124073320791841682&pli=1#editor/target=post;postID=6216624801759666608

Sensor testing and development infrastructure from $24 million Ohio Third Frontier Grant available to support private commercialization efforts

July 2, 2014 ­— CLEVELAND – Sensor technology development partners in the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering (WCSSE) are fully operational and available to support private commercialization efforts, Cleveland State University announced. CSU served as the lead grantee for the $24 million Ohio Third Frontier program that concluded this year.

The program created a network of commercialization partners in Ohio with goals of reducing time to market for sensor products and supporting job creation. The collaborating institutions will continue to offer facilities to companies interested in developing sensors and systems.

Examples of available capabilities include microelectronics packaging and testing at Lorain County Community College’s SMART Center, semiconductor design and energy management at University of Akron, human motion and control at CSU, terahertz applications and development lab at Ohio State University, machine imaging and quality assurance at Youngstown State University, as well as biomedical prototyping and evaluation facilities at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Center and Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron.

“The Wright Center collaborative has helped spur the creation of several start-up companies with sensor technology and we are open for business to others interested in utilizing our resources,” said Dr. Jerzy Sawicki, Principal Investigator for WCSSE and Vice President for Research at CSU.

One company that has emerged from the grant is Columbus-based Traycer Diagnostic Systems, Inc., which raised more than $5 million in private equity to advance its terahertz imaging technology.

Traycer Systems’ CEO Brad Beasecker said WCSSE offered his company essential access to test equipment that is unaffordable for most early-stage companies. “When you’re a start-up, every dollar and minute saved help you survive another day and speed the path to the market,” said Beasecker.

A complete listing of available capabilities as well as contact information at these and other facilities can be found at www.csuohio.edu/research/wcsse and www.ohiosensors.com. Interested companies can also contact Cleveland State University’s Office of Research at 216.687.9364.

- See more at: http://www.csuohio.edu/news/wright-center-for-sensor-systems-engineering-announces-grant-completion#sthash.PkhPGilG.dpuf

Abstract-A Broadband Focal Plane Array Camera for Real-time THz Imaging Applications

My Note: I missed this interesting abstract, and this morning I saw an article and photograph of the real time, THz camera developed at Ohio State University. 
http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/camera-sees-people-in-new-light-130314.htm

Author: G. Trichopoulos
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6420898&contentType=Early+Access+Articles&sortType%3Dasc_p_Sequence%26filter%3DAND%28p_IS_Number%3A4907023%29

We present a large-format, sub-millimeter-resolution, focal plane array sensor for THz imaging. Each pixel in the sensor array consists of broadband THz antennas monolithically integrated with ultra-fast heterostructure backward diodes for THz sensing. With the aid of in-house hybrid electromagnetic modeling tools, the focal plane array is optimized for diffraction limited image resolution and conjugate impedance matching for highest THz sensitivity. The camera is designed to operate in the 0.6 1.2 THz band with 5 frames-per-second image acquisition speeds, making it ideal for THz imaging applications, such as security screening, non-destructive evaluation and chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical imaging. The simulation results are validated by measurements to demonstrate sub-millimeter resolution with a pixel optical responsivity of 600 V/W at 0.7 THz.

Lake Shore Cryotronics to Launch THz Characterization System

http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2013/02/28/lake-shore-launch-thz-materials-characterization-system-aps-march-meeting-booth-800

Lake Shore Cryotronics will announce its new continuous wave terahertz materials characterization system at the American Physical Society March Meeting 2013.

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) February 28, 2013

Lake Shore Cryotronics will announce its new continuous wave terahertz materials characterization system at the American Physical Society March Meeting 2013. The conference, which will take place March 18 to 22 in Baltimore, is the largest physics meeting in the world, focusing on research from industry, universities, and national labs.

The Lake Shore product, slated for late 2013 delivery, is a turnkey system for materials characterization at THz frequencies. Continuous wave THz spectroscopy will allow researchers at the Center for Emergent Materials at The Ohio State University to see new phenomena for electronic and magnetic materials. The Lake Shore THz spectroscopy system allows researchers to explore material characteristics across a range of: 

•     Frequencies: 120 GHz to 1.1 THz
•     Temperatures: 5 K to 300 K
•     Magnetic fields: Up to 9 T

Attendees to the APS conference can view the novel non-contact, non-destructive THz cryostat insert at booth 800 and request an invitation to Lake Shore’s first-ever Materials Research forum on March 20. At the forum, Lake Shore experts will share research progress in THz spectroscopy and other areas of materials characterization, including:

•     Brad Dodrill, VP of Sales and Senior Scientist: Structural and magnetic properties of (Fe,Co)SiBNb ribbons prepared by rapid solidification (Lake Shore vibrating sample magnetometer)
•     Scott Yano, Probe Station Engineering Manager: Continuously variable temperature wafer probe measurements of vanadium sesquioxide (V2O3)
•     Dr. Jeff Lindemuth, Applications Scientist: Using a Hall Effect measurement system to characterize electronic transport of low mobility materials
•     Dr. David Daughton, Applications Scientist: Terahertz frequency materials characterization at cryogenic temperatures and high magnetic fields

“There has been a lot of interest in THz spectroscopy as researchers look for breakthroughs in novel semiconductors and spin materials,” Dr. Daughton states. “We’re excited about the findings of our colleagues at Ohio State University as they test this new system. APS will give us a chance to explore emerging applications with fellow researchers.”

Lake Shore experts are developing measurement solutions that will enable scientists everywhere to reliably explore the THz gap in pursuit of new insights into the physical properties of electronic and magnetic materials. Attendees can visit APS March Meeting booth 800 or the Lake Shore website for more information.

About Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc.
Supporting advanced research since 1968, Lake Shore (http://www.lakeshore.com) is a leading innovator in measurement and control solutions for materials characterization under extreme temperature and magnetic field conditions. High-performance product solutions from Lake Shore include cryogenic temperature sensors and instrumentation, magnetic test and measurement systems, probe stations, and precision materials characterizations systems that explore the electronic and magnetic properties of next-generation materials. Lake Shore serves an international base of research customers at leading university, government, aerospace, and commercial research institutions and is supported by a global network of sales and service facilities.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebAPS_March-Meeting_THz/02/prweb10469018.htm

Read more: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2013/02/28/lake-shore-launch-thz-materials-characterization-system-aps-march-meeting-booth-800#ixzz2MCnAq1y5
Read more at http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2013/02/28/lake-shore-launch-thz-materials-characterization-system-aps-march-meeting-booth-800#boURluh0GOBMDUTz.99 

Traycer Invited to Present Recent Developments in Terahertz Imaging at Ohio State University’s Institute for Materials Research Annual Symposia

http://www.techcolumbus.org/traycer-invited-present-recent-developments-terahertz-imaging-ohio-state-university’s-institute-mate

Columbus, Ohio, September 15, 2011 – Traycer Inc’s Chief Technical Officer, Lee Mosbacker Ph.D., was one of the presenters invited to present at The Ohio State University Institute for Materials Research 4th annual Materials Week symposia, September 12-14, 2011.  Dr. Mosbacker’s presentation, “New Developments in 80x64 Terahertz Focal Plane Array Imaging,” highlighted, for the first time publicly, some of the advances Traycer is making in Terahertz imaging.

“We are very excited with the images achieved to this point and look forward to even greater strides forward in this emerging field,” said Brad Beasecker, CEO of Traycer.  “The Terahertz research community has been working to produce this type of image for many years, and we are pleased to be able to bring this evidence to light.”

“Recent developments in the Terahertz technology continue to demonstrate that it’s evolution and growth will mirror that of the infrared industry,” according to Elliott Brown, Ph.D., Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

The annual Materials Research conference showcases materials-allied research at Ohio State and beyond.   The event brings together hundreds of researchers from OSU, other universities, industry and government labs at technical talks, poster sessions and evening receptions covering the full spectrum of materials-allied research.

About Traycer, Inc. 
Traycer, Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio, is a leader in developing terahertz components for researchers and application developers in the field of imaging, detection and generation of terahertz light.  Traycer is dedicated to providing unique solutions to realize terahertz applications in nondestructive evaluation, quality control and security screening.

                                                                      ###

MURI Grants $6.3m For Terahertz Technology Research

http://www.crazyengineers.com/muri-grants-6-3m-for-terahertz-technology-research-494/

Department of Defense’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) has granted $6.3 million for research and development of Gallium Nitride based devises operating in the Terahertz frequency range. The research will boost the efforts taken for the development of devices like imaging; both for medical and military, telecommunications and chemical agent screening. Especially the ability to generate, maintain and receive Terahertz signals would prove to be a major improvement in related fields.

US Department Of Defense

The interdisciplinary team led by Patrick Fay, Debdeep Jena and Huili (Grace) Xing includes a group of highly specialized engineers of their respective fields from Johns Hopkins University, Ohio state university and Wright state University. It is still a difficult aspect to design high power quality coherent sources for research purposes. The team has also to find out some alternate current sources which can operate upon sensing system at ordinary conditions outside laboratory utilizing the Terahertz frequency signals.

Gallium Nitride is an important engineering material which used in LASERS reading BLU-ray discs and also in other optoelectronic devices like ultra bright LEDs. The GaN devices if researched upon can open up exciting new Terahertz applications. Last year Jena and Xing had secured grants separately for their researches in purifying the water using GaN ultraviolet light sources. The research would be helpful in the present study of utilizing Terahertz frequency through GaN.

MURI is an initiative taken for finding out new possibilities in fields which holds promising opportunities in technology. Recently, Harindra Joseph S. Fernando, a Notre Dame University researcher also received a grant of $7.3 Million from the initiative. His study would mainly focus on developing weather forecasting systems in mountainous regions. This would be an important development not only in weather forecasting but also in aviation industry. All the researches though initially conducted for military purposes will ultimately leave a positive impact on civil aspects of society too.

Via: DefenseIndustryDaily

Ohio State University Scientists Collaborate on $3 Million MURI: Devices and Architectures for Terahertz Electronics

Prof. Berger, Prof. Rajan, Dr. Sertel and Prof. Volakis

The Ohio State University has been selected by the Office of Naval Research for a large Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI) grant to establish a new research program, DATE (III-N Devices and Architectures for TerahertzElectronics). The DATE program will explore the use of ultra fast gallium nitride semiconductor devices at unprecedented high frequencies above one terahertz. Electrical and Computer Engineering professors and scientistsKubilay Sertel, John Volakis, Paul Berger, and Siddharth Rajan are part of this project. 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. Rajan leads the OSU team in this effort.

The objective of the project is to exploit nanoscale control of semiconductors, and new circuit and antenna structures to enable revolutionary applications in ultra-high speed communication, sensing, and imaging. This project builds upon established expertise at Ohio State in the emerging topics of high-performance gallium nitride materials and devices and terahertz technologies, and is the third such MURI grant to be awarded to Ohio State in the area of gallium nitride materials devices in the last four years. It will also leverage work being done in an existing Wright Center, the Hyperspectral Engine Lab for Integrated Optical Systems (HELIOS), which is led by Volakis and focuses on terahertz imaging.

TeraView partners with HELOIS

http://www.optoiq.com/index/photonics-technologies-applications/lfw-display/lfw-article-display/5291786850/articles/optoiq2/photonics-technologies/news/test-and_measurement/2011/3/TeraView-HELIOS-semi-pkg-analysis.html
Mar 15, 2011

Cambridge, England--TeraView, provider of terahertz solutions and technology, is collaborating with the Hyperspectral Engine Lab for Integrated Optical Systems (HELIOS) in a Third Frontier supported project based within the Electrical Engineering Department of Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). Headed by professor J. Volakis, HELIOS aims help turn technology into commercial solutions--in this case, to improve semiconductor package failure analysis using terahertz technology.

As part of the collaboration TeraView has provided one of its Electro Optical Terahertz Pulsed Reflectometry (EOTPR) systems. These units were originally developed with Intel and are used for isolating faults in advanced 3D semiconductor packages. This is the first time the technology has been made available outside of Intel and it is hoped to use the unit to expose the technology to a wider North American semiconductor audience. The EOTPR system provides an alternative use of terahertz signals. Electrical pulses containing frequency components in the terahertz region are generated and able to propagate through interconnects in semiconductor packages allowing greatly improved fault isolation.

"This is a great opportunity for TeraView." Said Don Arnone, Teraview's CEO. "Many semiconductor companies are reluctant to send their new developments overseas. With the unit at HELIOS customers can quickly run samples and see firsthand how this technology can isolate faults days quicker than current technologies. Over time we clearly believe that this will lead to more business for TeraView in North America and to support this we are looking to set up our US office within the region."

Beyond EOTPR both parties are looking for further areas to collaborate. Areas such as pharmaceuticals, terahertz imaging for security, and medical applications are under consideration.

A spin out from Toshiba and Cambridge University in 2001 and employing 25 staff, Teraview has been developing terahertz technology across a number of areas that include; medical imaging, electronics, defense and security, non-destructive testing, and pharmaceuticals.

SOURCE: TeraView; www.teraview.com/terahertz/news/terahertz-news/HELIOS.html

Posted by: Gail Overton 

WRIGHT CENTER FUNDING BOOSTS TERAHERTZ SENSOR RESEARCH AT OHIO STATE

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 at The Ohio State University’s new center for research, testing and commercialization of terahertz sensors.

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

Through HELIOS, researchers aim to explore the still uncharted terahertz spectrum—a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum at frequencies between those of microwaves and infrared light—and utilize 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 researchers will also investigate new materials for reliable, low loss and low cost printing approaches, and for high performance terahertz devices and systems. HELIOS hopes to acquire and develop a millimeter-wave fabrication facility for peanut size electronics that can be used for low-cost commercial applications. This facility will serve as a learning and technology-transfer center for Ohio electronics companies.

As part of the ElectroScience Laboratory, HELIOS will be housed in the new Radio Frequency and Wireless Communication Research Building, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the 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.

Three-year projections suggest that HELIOS will result in 62 new Ohio jobs created in addition to 16 academic research jobs. Within eight years, the center is projected to generate 222 new, high-paying technology jobs.

Seven companies and organizations are currently collaborating with the ElectroScience Laboratory in HELIOS: Raytheon Co., Northrop Grumman Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., Valtronic Technologies, Traycer Diagnostic Systems Inc., TerraView Ltd., and the Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology (IDCAST).

The ElectroScience Laboratory is a major center of excellence within The Ohio State University College of Engineering and is one of the largest radio frequency and optics research laboratories in the country. Established in 1942, ESL’s more than 100 faculty, research scientists and graduate students are involved in all aspects of electromagnetic, radio frequency and terahertz technologies.

The Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering  was established by a $24 million grant from Ohio’s Third Frontier Program to Cleveland State University. WCSSE addresses the opportunity to enhance Ohio products using Ohio business and university resources through the development and commercialization of sensors and sensor systems technologies.