{"id":5626,"date":"2014-10-28T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.74.50.173\/2014\/10\/darpa-terahertz-chip-for-hig.html"},"modified":"2017-04-07T03:50:03","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T03:50:03","slug":"darpa-terahertz-chip-for-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextbigfuture.com\/2014\/10\/darpa-terahertz-chip-for-high.html","title":{"rendered":"DARPA terahertz chip for high resolution imaging, advanced radar and sensors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Officials from Guinness World Records today recognized DARPA\u2019s Terahertz Electronics program for creating the fastest solid-state amplifier integrated circuit ever measured.<\/a> The ten-stage common-source amplifier operates at a speed of one terahertz (10^12 Hz), or one trillion cycles per second\u2014150 billion cycles faster than the existing world record of 850 gigahertz set in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cTerahertz circuits promise to open up new areas of research and unforeseen applications in the sub-millimeter-wave spectrum, in addition to bringing unprecedented performance to circuits operating at more conventional frequencies,\u201d said Dev Palmer, DARPA program manager. \u201cThis breakthrough could lead to revolutionary technologies such as high-resolution security imaging systems, improved collision-avoidance radar, communications networks with many times the capacity of current systems and spectrometers that could detect potentially dangerous chemicals and explosives with much greater sensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nDARPA\u2019s Terahertz Monolithic Integrated Circuit (TMIC) is the first solid-state amplifier demonstrating gain above 1 THz (1012 GHz). This achievement, recognized by Guinness World Records, could open up new areas of research and unforeseen applications in the sub-millimeter-wave spectrum and bring unprecedented performance to circuits operating in more conventional bands.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation, the Terahertz Monolithic Integrated Circuit (TMIC) exhibits power gains several orders of magnitude beyond the current state of the art. Gain, which is measured logarithmically in decibels, similar to how earthquake intensity is measured on the Richter scale, describes the ability of an amplifier to increase the power of a signal from the input to the output. The Northrop Grumman TMIC showed a measured gain of nine decibels at 1.0 terahertz and eight decibels at 1.03 terahertz. By contrast, current smartphone technology operates at one to two gigahertz and wireless networks at 5.7 gigahertz<\/p>\n

\u201cGains of six decibels or more start to move this research from the laboratory bench to practical applications\u2014nine decibels of gain is unheard of at terahertz frequencies\u201d said Palmer. \u201cThis opens up new possibilities for building terahertz radio circuits.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, researchers have been looking to exploit the tremendously high-frequency band beginning above 300 gigahertz where the wavelengths are less than one millimeter. The terahertz level has proven to be somewhat elusive though due to a lack of effective means to generate, detect, process and radiate the necessary high-frequency signals.<\/p>\n

Current electronics using solid-state technologies have largely been unable to access the sub-millimeter band of the electromagnetic spectrum due to insufficient transistor performance. To address the \u201cterahertz gap,\u201d engineers have traditionally used frequency conversion\u2014converting alternating current at one frequency to alternating current at another frequency\u2014to multiply circuit operating frequencies up from millimeter-wave frequencies. This approach, however, restricts the output power of electrical devices and adversely affects signal-to-noise ratio. Frequency conversion also increases device size, weight and power supply requirements.<\/p>

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DARPA has made a series of strategic investments in terahertz electronics through its HiFIVE, SWIFT and TFAST programs. Each program built on the successes of the previous one, providing the foundational research necessary for frequencies to reach the terahertz threshold.<\/p>\n

SOURCE – DARPA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Officials from Guinness World Records today recognized DARPA\u2019s Terahertz Electronics program for creating the fastest solid-state amplifier integrated circuit ever measured. The ten-stage common-source amplifier operates at a speed of one terahertz (10^12 Hz), or one trillion cycles per second\u2014150 billion cycles faster than the existing world record of 850 gigahertz set in 2012. \u201cTerahertz … <\/p>\n

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