Development Status of Terahertz in China The problem!
Terahertz prospects
The unique properties of terahertz (THz) have brought profound impacts to various fields such as communications (broadband communications), radar, electronic warfare, electromagnetic weapons, astronomy, medical imaging (label-free gene screening, cellular-level imaging), non-destructive testing, and security inspections (biochemical detection). Due to the high frequency of THz, it possesses a high spatial resolution; furthermore, its short pulses (in the picosecond range) result in a high temporal resolution.
Development Status of Terahertz in China
On October 28, 2016, news emerged that the 23rd Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation had obtained China's first terahertz (THz) band outdoor Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image, marking a breakthrough in key technologies for THz band radar imaging. Through this first THz band outdoor SAR image, key technical indicators and imaging algorithms were experimentally verified, laying a technical foundation for the engineering application of THz radar. However, due to limitations in the development level of high-power THz radiation sources, THz radar system imaging currently cannot fully meet practical application requirements.
Development Status of Terahertz in USA
The company Picometrix, incubated by the University of Michigan and the University of Stanford in the United States, primarily produces THz detection systems. Its THz imaging systems have been put into use for inspecting internal defects in the thin plates of spacecraft walls. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute incubated the company ZOMEGA, which mainly produces THz spectrum analysis systems and imaging systems. One of its products, the Mini Z, already has the potential for airborne detection. In recent years, several well-known American companies have also turned their attention to the production of THz products, including Coherent, VDI, Thorlabs, ImraAmerica, and Physical Science, among others. VDI primarily produces THz and millimeter-wave solid-state oscillators and compact integrated systems, with products reaching frequencies up to 1.7 THz. These are mainly used in satellite communication, astronomical exploration, weather monitoring, remote sensing imaging, and other fields. IBM has developed the silicon-germanium THz microprocessor chip, IBM GeorgiaTech, which can reach a clock frequency of 0.35 THz at room temperature, significantly higher than standard PC processor chips. In low-temperature environments, the germanium chip can achieve even higher performance, with a clock frequency of up to 0.5 THz.
Development Status of Terahertz in UK
The United Kingdom has established ThruVision, a company dedicated to the commercialization of THz imaging, which has developed passive THz imagers, and currently has commercialized passive THz imaging systems. TeraView, a high-tech company incubated by the University of Cambridge in the UK, is engaged in the development of THz cameras. The TPI Imaga 1000 and TPI Imaga 2000 three-dimensional imaging systems it has developed are the world's first commercial THz imaging systems used for the physicochemical properties of materials, and can be applied to non-destructive analysis and inspection. The EI company in the UK has produced THz gas lasers, and the Farran company in Ireland is also engaged in the development of THz sources and detector products. In addition, several companies based on the production of THz technology-related products have emerged in Germany, Switzerland, France, and other countries in recent years. In Asia, related companies are mainly concentrated in Japan and Korea. For example, Nikon Corporation in Japan has produced the YRayfact series of THz imaging systems; Murata Manufacturing has also developed new THz-related application products around THz technology; Fujitsu Limited in Japan has now begun researching THz lasers; United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) in Taiwan has used its 0.13μm RFCMOS process technology to manufacture a push-push voltage-controlled oscillator with an oscillation frequency of 0.192 THz, setting a record for the highest oscillation frequency on a silicon chip (if using 65nm process, the oscillation frequency is expected to reach 0.35 to 0.4 THz). In summary, a new generation of IT industry based on THz technology has begun to gradually form, and the industrialization of THz technology will gradually enter the fields of industrial production, medical detection, environmental monitoring, safety inspections, and more in the future.
