| Title | Simple Device Could Convert DC Electric Field To Terahertz Radiation | |
| Date | Friday August 07 2015, @03:26AM | |
| Author | janrinok | |
| Topic | ||
| from the more-ways-for-TSA-to-look-at-people dept. | ||
Terahertz radiation is touted to open up many wondrous possibilities. T-ray technology could allow security officials to detect concealed weapons from a distance, provide accurate medical imaging, and allow high-speed wireless data communication.
One of the challenges in making the technology viable, though, has been developing a compact, efficient, and powerful terahertz source. The sources used today are bulky and costly. Some, such as quantum cascade lasers, require cryogenic temperatures.
A team of physicists now proposes a way to convert DC electric fields into terahertz radiation. They have come up with a seemingly simple nanoscale device—it relies on complex physics, mind you—that consists of a pair of two-dimensional material layers placed on top of a thicker conductor. When a DC electric current is passed through the conductor or the 2-D layer, the device should spontaneously emit terahertz radiation, the researchers say. They report the design this week in the Journal of Applied Physics.
...
The device's underlying mechanism is surface plasmon resonance: the collective oscillations of conducting electrons. The DC field causes plasmon resonance at the thick conductor's surface and at the interface between the two 2-D layers. The two plasmons couple together and cause an instability in the oscillations, which induces the emission of THz radiation. Terahertz waves range in frequency from 300GHz–3 THz, corresponding to wavelengths between 1 mm to 0.1 mm.
More information on the device's design in the article. One step closer to real tricorders?
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printed from SoylentNews, Simple Device Could Convert DC Electric Field To Terahertz Radiation on 2024-04-28 23:09:30