HyperSpectral Terahertz neAR-field nanoscope exploiting miniaturized frequency-combs

Project Information

STAR

Grant agreement ID: 101081567

DOI

10.3030/101081567

Project closed

EC signature date 30 June 2022

Start date 1 December 2022

End date 31 May 2024

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 150 000,00

Coordinated by

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - STAR (HyperSpectral Terahertz neAR-field nanoscope exploiting miniaturized frequency-combs)

Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2024-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

‘STAR’ aims to increase the technology readiness level of the state-of-the-art graphene-integrated, miniaturized frequency comb (FC) quantum cascade laser (QCL), operating at terahertz (THz) frequencies, devised under the ERC consolidator grant ‘SPRINT’, and develop a detector-less sensing/imaging demonstrator apt to the translation of this technology to industrial end-users.

The focus is on providing a compact, low-cost, hyperspectral, nanoscale imaging system, which creates amplitude- and phase-resolved images, employing the not-invasive broadband THz-frequency light of a metrological frequency-comb source, without making use of an external detector.
This nanoscope ensures 40-100 nm spatial resolution, >100 times smaller than the THz free-space wavelength, coherent detection and mapping of the THz optical response of materials over the continuous 2-5 THz bandwidth provided by a fully stabilized THz QCL FC, with noise-equivalent-power <10pW/√Hz and fast acquisition rates, far exceeding the performances of commercial time-domain spectroscopy near-field systems.

Specific objectives are to manufacture a compact, portable and user-friendly THz hyperspectral nanoscope, validate its core technology with commercial end-users and at trade-shows and evaluate opportunities for THz FC self-detection nanoscopy, identifying novel end-user applications, with a detailed market, IPR and regulatory compliance study. By the end of this programme, I plan to identify a solid exploitation route by directly interacting with THz instrument producers and with targeted commercial end-users.

Pushing forward a solid commercial exploitation route, STAR prospects new directions and long-term impacts on many interdisciplinary fields crossing engineering, biology, medicine, cultural heritage, material science and quantum technology, and in a frontier frequency domain where electronics and photonics find a fascinating convergence.


https://thz-photonics.nano.cnr.it/erc-2022-poc2star/

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The activities performed are listed below:

- Construct a portable, optical-breadboard-based frequency comb s-SNOM system
- Development of heterogenueous THz QCL FC combining, in one chip, the 2.5 THz, 3 THz, 3.5 THz, 4 THz QCL FC.
- Development and test of the THz s-SNOM FC-based nanoscopy system, based on a cryogen-free cooler mounted on transportable optical breadboard (
- Construction of a dedicated data-processing interface for demonstration to end-users of the novel s-SNOM system
- Refined nanoscope presented in technical exhibition events and the Neaspec attocube dedicated event (June 2024 , Munich)

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

we have extensive interest in our technology from several end-users, including:
- local security services for identifying illicit drugs and explosives;
- the Center for Space Geodesy (CGS) of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for what concerns the investigation of inorganic materials of interest for energy-storage, mineralogy, archaeology and corrosion sciences;
- medical and diagnostic centers for inspecting enveloped viruses (CoV, IFV, HIV, Ebola, etc.) and how they enter into a host cell to reveal new membrane penetration mechanisms and inhibition processes for antiviral therapies;
- micro-biology laboratories for bio-spectroscopy of proteins;
- electronic industries (for identifying surface strain, defects in microchips and tablet coatings);
- pharmaceutical industries (non-destructive, chemical analysis of tablets, capsules, and other dosage forms).

In addition to that, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has posed the urgency to develop innovative technologies for reliable, world-scalable and cost-effective diagnostics, therapy and vaccine engineering to tackle infectious diseases. Our THz nanoscope instrument has also the potential to provide conformational characterization with chemical specificity of biomolecular and cellular nanosystems, shedding light on key aspects of metabolism and transmission of pathogens, to complement existing imaging tools and identify new platforms for label-free THz biosensing. As an example, it will provide the broadband spectral coverage combined with the needed resolution to study large viruses like coronaviridae, that have average diameter from 80 to 200 nm. We thus expect huge impact on medical diagnostic.

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