Our future world will be one of ubiquitous sensor systems - a “Real World Web” where billions of devices, machines, or “things” will connect to the internet. In 2008, more machines were connected to the internet than there are humans on the planet, and by 2020 over 50 billion machines were connected to the internet. As a consequence, there is an ever-increasing hunger for communications bandwidth, both at a local level within an office or apartment, and at nodes within data centres and server farms. Also, emerging applications such as autonomous driving require vehicles to the situationally aware, and therefore suitable sensing and imaging technologies are required. In many applications, both high-speed communications and high resolution imaging/sensing will be required at the same time.
Wireless communications and connectivity in central to the modern global economy. The growth of data transmission is exponential. The increasing number of new applications such as virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), autonomous driving, Internet of Things (IoT), and wireless backhaul, as well as newer applications that have not been conceived yet, will need even greater data rates and less latency than what state-of the art (5G) networks can offer. The next generation of wireless communication (6G) systems must meet this challenge for continued socio-economic growth.
The terahertz (THz) part of the electromagnetic spectrum has the required bandwidth to meet 6G requirements, but lacks in compact and efficient semiconductor technologies for realising the required system components.
TeraApps (Doctoral Training Network in Terahertz Technologies for Imaging, Radar and Communication Applications) was a multi-site network comprising 10 internationally reputed research teams (7 academic, 2 research institutes and 1 industry) and 12 associated partners comprising 9 companies and 3 academic instituions. The network aim was to provide a unique research training opportunity for a cohort of 15 early stage researchers (ESRs) in the novel and multidisciplinary field of semiconductor terahertz technologies – a burgeoning field of research that offers strategic training opportunities with exceptional prospects for career development (in academia and industry) and a potential of dramatic impact on the imaging, radar, communications and sensing application areas for our increasingly connected and smart world.
The scientific training objectives were:
• Training, networking, and supervision: 1) To equip young researchers with the skills and experience to be able to develop tomorrow’s THz semiconductor technology and leverage the strength of the EU in the strategic field of THz technology; 2) To provide training in interdisciplinary, inter-sector and newly emerging supra-disciplinary fields such as nano- and quantum technology, as well as their application areas for industry and services.
• Semiconductor materials, material design and growth: To develop advanced resonant tunnelling diode materials, their design and epitaxial growth techniques; and to exploit new 2D materials and new physical phenomena for the realisation of reliable and high performance THz components.
• Device and circuit design, realisation and testing: To design and realise integrated circuit THz sources and detectors, photodetectors, and wireless/photonic interfaces in RTD technology and in other emerging technologies (2D materials and 1D nanowire transistor technologies) as appropriate.
• Demonstrator systems: 1) To design and realise compact functional THz systems such as (single pixel) imaging, short-range multi-gigabit wireless communication links and radar-type sensors for nondestructive testing based on the developed semiconductor technologies. 2) To utilize the THz systems to promote advances in other application areas such as security and healthcare.
• Build a high-impact structure ensuring multi-level dissemination and exploitation of all results.
