Project description
Advanced terahertz receiver tech for atmospheric measurements
Terahertz receivers are widely used by satellites and other space initiatives to measure and monitor physical and chemical processes related to weather and, more recently, climate change. The growing number of such satellites is providing increasingly crucial data for combating climate change. However, there is a lack of terahertz receiver options that offer higher sensitivity, a broad ambient temperature range, and the ability to operate for extended periods of time without cryogenic cooling. The ERC-funded FIRE project aims to address this by combining INP-based semiconductors with thin silicon membrane technology to develop advanced terahertz solutions with increased receiver sensitivity, improved stability, and reduced energy consumption.
Objective
The project will establish frontline semiconductor terahertz electronics for far-infrared space instruments by exploring and combining InP-based semiconductors with thin silicon membrane technology. The goal is to obtain high receiver sensitivity and stability for much less power consumption beyond what is currently considered state-of-the-art in the 2-5 THz frequency range.
Terahertz measurements of the atmosphere are made routinely to monitor and reveal physical and chemical processes related to weather and climate change. New space initiatives, using constellations of terahertz receivers on small satellites, can help to gain further data and insights about the climate system. For atmosphere science, there is a need for a terahertz receiver without active cryogenic cooling that can operate over a broad ambient temperature range with sufficient sensitivity and can make observations over a long time. For the supra-terahertz band (>3 THz), several challenges, such as power consumption and inefficient coupling to the terahertz radiation, leave a gap in semiconductor technology. Hence, future Earth and space science missions need new compact heterodyne receiver solutions with improved energy conversion efficiency.
Millimetre wave, antenna-integrated, InP-based Schottky barrier mixers have shown high sensitivity at a small cost in power consumption (local oscillator). Still, InP-substrates are fragile and not suitable for supra-terahertz circuits. Therefore, combining robust, integrated silicon membrane technology with InP-based electronics can potentially revolutionise future space terahertz instrumentation. This approach will enable compact, efficient and advanced room-temperature heterodyne receivers for far-infrared space science instruments and trigger future research on terahertz electronics in various applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technology
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
412 96 Goteborg
Sweden