Generation, manipulation, and detection of electromagnetic waves across the entire frequency spectrum is the cornerstone of modern technologies, underpinning many disciplines such as sensing, imaging, spectroscopy and telecom networks. Whilst the last century has witnessed an impressive evolution in devices operating at frequencies either below 0.1 THz (microwave and antenna technology) or above 50 THz (near-infrared – NIR - and visible – Vis - optical technology), in between the lack of suitable materials and structures for efficient electromagnetic manipulation has resulted in the so-called “THz gap”: a band of frequencies in the ~0.1 – 30 THz region for which compact and cost-effective sources and detectors do not exist – even though their application has enormous potential in medical diagnostics, remote sensing, security, astronomy, and wireless communication. While coherent detection of waves in the 0.1 – 2.5 THz domain is now widely performed in the laboratory using ultrashort laser pulses and photoconductive antennae or other non-linear materials, these techniques are far from commercial applications due to their high complexity and cost. Recent advances in III-V Schottky diodes and field-effect transistors are closing the gap up to ~1 THz with some prospects for commercialisation,3 but the available techniques for direct detection in the 1-30 THz regime (micro-bolometer, Golay cells, pyroelectrics – all based on thermal effects) are slow, noisy and bulky. Clearly, a new concept for the detection of THz waves in this range would have dramatic impacts on THz technologies.
In THOR, we will demonstrate the first nano-scale, cost-effective, fast, and low-noise detectors working in the 1 – 30 THz range by developing a radically novel concept of signal up-conversion to visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) radiation, leveraging the latest scientific breakthroughs in the emerging field of molecular cavity optomechanics.
THOR’s impact on society and the economy will be achieved indirectly via the future development of molecular OM devices that will play a key role in several of the societal challenges addressed in H2020, e.g. in (i) Health, demographic change, and wellbeing; and (iii) Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens. In addition, THOR’s concept could be applied to improve Raman spectroscopy, thus playing a role in disciplines such as chemistry or biology.
