A terahertz generator with the highest signal quality

Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) and the firm Luz WaveLabs are developing an innovative Terahertz generator that improves signal quality by one million times as compared to the best device of this kind currently on the market; it will allow this technology to be applied in the areas of biomedicine, transportation safety, industry and radio astronomy, among others.

Terahertz waves (THz) are found on the furthest extreme of the infrared band, just before the beginning of the microwave band. "This area is possibly the last range of the electromagnetic spectrum that is yet to be developed and exploited," comment the scientists. Although in recent years research has produced significant advances in the systems used to generate and detect this submillimetric radiation, it is still necessary to develop technologies with enough quality, flexibility and ease of use to cause an explosion in the commercialization of the THz range, points out Ángel Rubén Criado, one of the founding partners of Luz WaveLabs.

This company, a spin off hatched in UC3M's Department of Electronic Technology with the support of theVivero de Empresas (Business Incubator) in UC3M's Parque Científico (Science Park), is attempting to design high performance tools that can introduce THz waves to new sectors and convert this technology into an everyday tool within the next few years. Their star product is the "pure-T-wave", a THz generator that combines the advantages of electronics and photonics to obtain a "signal quality that is one million times greater than the one produced by the best photonic THz generator that is currently on the market," states the researcher.