Project description
Advancing detection in the terahertz with hyperspectral graphene cameras
Ultrafast single-layer graphene (SLG) detectors operating at terahertz frequencies offer significant advancements in speed and resolution for real-time detection of various materials and substances. These detectors promise compact, low-cost (below EUR 40 000) and energy-efficient (below 20 W) solutions operating at room temperature, with potential applications across engineering, biology, medicine, cultural heritage and quantum communications. Funded by the European Research Council, the TeraScan project aims to take this technology to the next level by developing a hyperspectral single-layer graphene camera that surpasses the performance of existing commercial terahertz cameras. Researchers will create a portable imaging system integrating multiwavelength high-power quantum cascade lasers. The technology will be validated with end users.
Objective
‘TeraScan’ aims to increase the technology readiness level of the state-of-the-art, ultrafast single layer graphene (SLG) detectors operating at terahertz (THz) frequencies, devised under the ERC consolidator grant ‘SPRINT’, and develop a hyperspectral imaging demonstrator suitable to the translation of this technology to industrial end-users.
The focus is on providing a compact, hyperspectral (HS) SLG camera which is low-cost (<40k€), fast (individual pixel response time < 10 ns), with low power consumption (<20W) and scalable, operating at room temperature, with NEP < 100 pW/√Hz, (frequency independent) suitable for real-time detection, in particular at operating frequencies > 2.5 THz, far exceeding the performances of commercial THz cameras. Once integrated with multiwavelength high-power quantum cascade lasers, the resulting far-field hyperspectral imaging system is plan to exceed by orders of magnitude the cost reduction, speed and resolution performances of commercial time-domain spectroscopy systems.
Specific objectives are to manufacture a compact, portable and user-friendly THz SLG camera, integrate it, on a portable optical bench, with THz QCLs, validate its core technology with commercial end-users and at trade-shows and evaluate opportunities by 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 cooperating with THz instrument producers and with targeted commercial end-users.
Endorsing a solid commercial exploitation route, TeraScan prospects new directions and long-term impacts, in a frontier frequency domain, on many interdisciplinary fields crossing engineering, biology, medicine, cultural heritage and quantum communications.
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 technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructuresgraphene
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensorsoptical sensors
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physics
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsHost institution
00185 Roma
Italy