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This work presents a 340-GHz frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) pulse-Doppler radar. The radar system is based on a transceiver module with about one milli-Watt output power and more than 30-GHz bandwidth. The front-end optics consists of an off-axis parabola fed by a horn antenna from the transceiver unit, resulting in a collimated radar beam. The digital radar waveform generation allows for coherent and arbitrary FMCW pulse waveforms. The performance in terms of sensitivity and resolution (range/cross-range/velocity) is demonstrated, and the system's ability to detect and map single particles (0.1-10 mm diameter), as well as clouds of particles, at a 5-m distance, is presented. A range resolution of 1 cm and a cross-range resolution of a few centimeters (3-dB beam-width) allow for the characterization of the dynamics of particle clouds with a measurement voxel size of a few cubic centimeters. The monitoring of particle dynamics is of interest in several industrial applications, such as in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and the control/analysis of fluidized bed combustion reactors., Comment: 7 pages

Current non-intrusive measurement techniques for characterising the solids flow in gas-solids suspensions are limited by the low temporal or low spatial resolution of the sample volume, or in the case of optical methods, by a short range of sight. In this work, a sub-millimetre wave range-Doppler radar is developed and validated for non-intrusive sensing of solids concentrations in a gas-solids particle system with known characteristics. The radar system combines favourable features, such as the ability to see through at optical frequencies opaque materials, to measure the local solids velocity and the reflected radar power with a spatial resolution of a few cubic centimetres over distances of a few metres. This paper introduces a method to relate the received radar signal power to the solids volumetric concentrations (cv) of different particulate materials. The experimental set-up provides a steady stream of free-falling solids that consist of glass spheres, bronze spheres or natural sand grains with known particle size distributions and with particle diameters in the range of 50-300 $\mu$m. Thus, the values of cv found using the radar measurements are validated using the values of cv retrieved from closure of the mass balance derived from the measured mass flow rate of the solids stream and the solids velocity. The results show that the radar system provides reliable measurements of cv, with a mean relative error of approximately 25% for all the tested materials, particle sizes and mass flow rates, yielding values of cv ranging from 0.2x10$^{-4}$ m$^{3}$/ m$^{3}$ up to 40x10$^{-4}$ m$^{3}$/ m$^{3}$ and solids velocities within the range of 0-4.5 m/s. This demonstrates the ability of the radar technology to diagnose the solids flow in gas-solids suspensions using a unique combination of penetration length, accuracy, and spatial and velocity resolution., Comment: submitted to Advanced Powder Technology Elsevier

A method to assess the quality of the calibration standards has been developed and tested. The actual response of the tested transmission lines for LRRM-16 calibration approach has been simulated in HFSS environment, fabricated, and tested with on-wafer measurement setup. The method for quality assessment is based on the properties of similar matrices, that compares traces and determinants of the S-parameters products for fabricated and simulated structures.

Accurate device models and parameter extraction methods are of utmost importance for characterizing graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) and for predicting their performance in circuit applications. For DC characterization, accurate extraction of mobility and series resistance is of particular concern. In this paper, we show how a first-order mobility degradation model can be used to separate information about mobility degradation and series resistance for a set of GFETs of different channel lengths. Data from a large set of top-gated GFETs based on chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene was analyzed to validate the proposed model and extraction procedures. For removing any uncertainties caused by observed device-to-device data variations due to the uneven quality of CVD graphene, the same methods were applied to a set of closely located bottom-gated GFETs found in literature. Those GFETs were designed for transfer length methods and fabricated on exfoliated graphene of homogenous quality. Similar mobility degradation behavior was observed for both sets of devices with the mobility being reduced to half for a voltage-induced charge carrier density of 1013 cm-2.

Low-loss planar Goubau lines show promising potential for terahertz applications. However, a single-wire waveguide exhibits less design freedom than standard multi-conductor lines, which is a significant constraint for realizing standard components. Existing filters for planar Goubau line lack clear design procedures preventing the synthesis of an arbitrary filter response. In this work, we present a design for a bandpass/bandstop filter for planar Goubau line by periodically loading the line with capacitively coupled {\lambda}/2 resonators, which can be easily tuned by changing their electrical length. The filter's working principle is explained by a proposed transmission-line model. We designed and fabricated a passband filter centered at 0.9 THz on a 10-{\mu}m silicon-membrane substrate and compared measurement results between 0.5 THz and 1.1 THz to electromagnetic simulations, showing excellent agreement in both S11 and S21. The measured passband has an insertion loss of 7 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 31 %. Overall, the proposed filter design has good performance while having a simple design procedure.

The high-frequency performance of top-gated graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) depends to a large extent on the saturation velocity of the charge carriers, a velocity limited by inelastic scattering by surface optical phonons from the dielectrics surrounding the channel. In this work, we show that, by simply changing the graphene channel surrounding dielectric with a material having higher optical phonon energy, one could improve the transit frequency and maximum frequency of oscillation of GFETs. We fabricated GFETs on conventional SiO2/Si substrates by adding a thin Al2O3 interfacial buffer layer on top of SiO2/Si substrates, a material with about 30% higher optical phonon energy than that of SiO2, and compared performance with that of GFETs fabricated without adding the interfacial layer. From S-parameter measurements, a transit frequency and a maximum frequency of oscillation of 43 and 46 GHz, respectively, were obtained for GFETs on Al2O3 with 0.5- $\mu \text{m}$ gate length. These values are approximately 30% higher than those for state-of-the-art GFETs of the same gate length on SiO2. For relating the improvement of GFET high-frequency performance to improvements in the charge carrier saturation velocity, we used standard methods to extract the charge carrier velocity from the channel transit time. A comparison between two sets of GFETs with and without the interfacial Al2O3 layer showed that the charge carrier saturation velocity had increased from $1.5\cdot 10^{{7}}$ to $2\cdot 10^{{7}}$ cm/s.

A 1.5 Å resolution crystal structure of bovine trypsin at room temperature has been determined using 150 fs X-ray diffraction snapshots at the FemtoMAX beamline of the MAX IV facility., Protein dynamics contribute to protein function on different time scales. Ultrafast X-ray diffraction snapshots can visualize the location and amplitude of atom displacements after perturbation. Since amplitudes of ultrafast motions are small, high-quality X-ray diffraction data is necessary for detection. Diffraction from bovine trypsin crystals using single femtosecond X-ray pulses was recorded at FemtoMAX, which is a versatile beamline of the MAX IV synchrotron. The time-over-threshold detection made it possible that single photons are distinguishable even under short-pulse low-repetition-rate conditions. The diffraction data quality from FemtoMAX beamline enables atomic resolution investigation of protein structures. This evaluation is based on the shape of the Wilson plot, cumulative intensity distribution compared with theoretical distribution, I/σ, R merge/R meas and CC1/2 statistics versus resolution. The FemtoMAX beamline provides an interesting alternative to X-ray free-electron lasers when studying reversible processes in protein crystals.

Terahertz imaging has potential in a variety of applications, such as noninvasive inspection, medical examination, and security. Many of these applications call for flexible focal-plane arrays with large fields of view. Here, we demonstrate the implementation of a flexible, 300 GHz, $1\times 6$ linear detector array based on graphene field-effect transistors and integrated bow-tie antennas. Conservative estimates based on room temperature measurements at 300 GHz show element voltage responsivities in the range from 20 to 70 V/W, and noise equivalent powers in the range from 0.06 to 0.2 nW/ $\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ . Measured radiation patterns, showing good agreement with simulations, reveal half-power beamwidths of $45^\circ$ and $60^\circ$ for $H$ - and $E$ -planes, respectively. Characterization of the antenna array in a curved configuration shows that the voltage response is reduced up to 3 dB compared to the flat configuration due to a decrease of the antenna directivity. We believe that our preliminary results could serve as an enabling platform for the future development of flexible antenna arrays based on graphene field-effect transistors for curved focal plane imaging, important for wearable sensors and many other applications.

Ultrafast and sensitive (noise equivalent power, This is the unedited authors' version of the article accepted for publication in Nanophotonics 2020 (Online ISSN: 2192-8614)

It has been shown that there can be a significant temperature increase in graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) operating under high drain bias, which is required for power gain. However, the possible effects of self-heating on the high-frequency performance of GFETs have been weakly addressed so far. In this article, we report on an experimental and theoretical study of the effects of self-heating on dc and high-frequency performance of GFETs by introducing a method that allows accurate evaluation of the effective channel temperature of GFETs with a submicrometer gate length. In the method, theoretical expressions for the transit frequency ( ${f}_{\text {T}}$ ) and the maximum frequency of oscillation ( ${f}_{\text {max}}$ ) based on the small-signal equivalent circuit parameters are used in combination with the models of the field- and temperature-dependent charge carrier concentration, velocity, and saturation velocity of GFETs. The thermal resistances found by our method are in good agreement with those obtained by the solution of the Laplace equation and by the method of thermo-sensitive electrical parameters. Our experiments and modeling indicate that the self-heating can significantly degrade the ${f}_{\text {T}}$ and ${f}_{\text {max}}$ of GFETs at power densities above 1 mW/ $\mu \text{m}^{2}$ , from approximately 25 to 20 GHz. This article provides valuable insights for further development of GFETs, taking into account the self-heating effects on the high-frequency performance.

Direct power detectors based on field-effect transistors are becoming widely used for terahertz applications. However, accurate characterization at terahertz frequencies of such detectors is a challenging task. The high-frequency response is dominated by parasitic coupling and loss associated with contacts and overall layout of the component. Moreover, the performance of such detectors is complicated to predict since many different physical models are used to explain the high sensitivity at terahertz frequencies. This makes it hard to draw important conclusions about the underlying device physics for these detectors. For the first time, we demonstrate accurate and comprehensive characterization of graphene field-effect transistors from 1 GHz to 1.1 THz, simultaneously accessing the bias dependence, the scattering parameters, and the detector voltage responsivity. Within a frequency range of more than 1 THz, and over a wide bias range, we have shown that the voltage responsivity can be accurately described using a combination of a small-signal equivalent circuit model, and the second-order series expansion terms of the nonlinear dc I–V characteristics. Without bias, the measured low-frequency responsivity was 0.3 kV/W with the input signal applied to the gate, and 2 kV/W with the input signal applied to the drain. The corresponding cutoff frequencies for the two cases were 140 and 50 GHz, respectively. With a 300-GHz signal applied to the gate, a voltage responsivity of 1.8 kV/W was achieved at a drain-source current of 0.2 mA. The minimum noise equivalent power was below 30 pW/ $\sqrt{\rm Hz}$ in cold mode. Our results show that detection of terahertz signals in graphene field-effect transistors can be described over a wide frequency range by the nonlinear carrier transport characteristics obtained at static electrical fields. This finding is important for explaining the mechanism of detection and for further development of terahertz detectors.

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 European Association for Antennas and Propagation. The optical behavior of a terahertz imaging system employing a train of four identical off-axis parabolic mirrors with oblique incidence angle illumination is investigated in this work. The aperture filling and aberrations of a single off-axis parabolic mirror when illuminated by a Gaussian terahertz beam at its focus point is measured and simulated. The amplitude of E-field in transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations at target plane reveals a significant cross polarization, even when there is zero cross polarization at the source beam, amplitude of which is ∼ 33% of TE polarization. The investigation of the E-field on the detector plane reveals that this ratio is ∼ 1.5% at the detector plane, and the cross polarized E-field at the target plane is rotated back to co polarization. Although its amplitude is negligible, the TM distribution at detector plane is bimodal and tilted about the optical axis.

The planar Goubau line is a promising low-loss metal waveguide for terahertz interconnects. To enable advanced system architectures and multi-port measurements based on planar Goubau lines, there is a strong need for broadband impedance-matched loads, which can be used to absorb the energy and minimize standing waves in a system. In this work, we propose a matched load for planar Goubau lines based on an exponentially-tapered corrugated line, gradually increasing conductor losses while maintaining small reflections. The corrugation density is high enough to increase conductor losses without requiring an auxiliary low-conductivity material, simplifying the fabrication process. A 400-$\mu$m long planar Goubau line load was fabricated on a 10-$\mu$m thick silicon substrate suspended in the air. Electromagnetic simulations of the load show excellent agreement with calibrated reflection measurements in the frequency range 0.5 THz - 1.1 THz. Above the cut-off frequency of around 580 GHz, the measured reflections are much less than -19 dB, below the noise floor of the characterization setup.

Scientific reports 9(1), 19281 (1-14) (2019). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55777-5, Low-frequency vibrations are crucial for protein structure and function, but only a few experimental techniques can shine light on them. The main challenge when addressing protein dynamics in the terahertz domain is the ubiquitous water that exhibit strong absorption. In this paper, we observe the protein atoms directly using X-ray crystallography in bovine trypsin at 100 K while irradiating the crystals with 0.5 THz radiation alternating on and off states. We observed that the anisotropy of atomic displacements increased upon terahertz irradiation. Atomic displacement similarities developed between chemically related atoms and between atoms of the catalytic machinery. This pattern likely arises from delocalized polar vibrational modes rather than delocalized elastic deformations or rigid-body displacements. The displacement correlation between these atoms were detected by a hierarchical clustering method, which can assist the analysis of other ultra-high resolution crystal structures. These experimental and analytical tools provide a detailed description of protein dynamics to complement the structural information from static diffraction experiments., Published by Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, [London]

Efficient and compact frequency converters are essential for frequency stabilization of terahertz sources. In this paper, we present a 3.5-THz, x6-harmonic, integrated Schottky diode mixer operating at room temperature. The designed frequency converter is based on a single-ended, planar Schottky diode with a sub-micron anode contact area defined on a suspended 2-$\mu$m ultra-thin GaAs substrate. The dc-grounded anode pad was combined with the radio frequency E-plane probe, which resulted in an electrically compact circuit. At 200 MHz intermediate frequency, a mixer conversion loss of about 59 dB is measured and resulting in a 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio for phase locking 3.5-THz quantum-cascade laser. Using a quasi-static diode model combined with electromagnetic simulations, good agreement with the measured results was obtained. Harmonic frequency converters without the need of cryogenic cooling will help in the realization of highly sensitive space and air-borne heterodyne receivers., Comment: Submitted to IEEE-TST

High frequency accuracy and stability are important requirements for local oscillators in terahertz heterodyne spectrometers. We report on a phase-locked loop for quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) operating at 3.5 and 4.7 THz, two very important frequencies in atmospheric science and astronomy. The QCLs are locked to the multiplied output of a frequency synthesizer using a Schottky diode harmonic mixer.

Terahertz frequency domain spectroscopy (THzFDS) has been employed to study the result of variation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) on the effective refractive index of pharmaceutical tablets. A quasi-optical set-up with four off-axis parabolic mirrors was used to measure the effective refractive index of tablets in the frequency range of 500-750 GHz. It was observed that a small variation in API concentration can be detected using accurate measurements of the complex transmission coefficients. As a results, THz-FDS reveals to be an effective technique in monitoring the physical properties of pharmaceutical tablets.

In this paper, we report the development of single-ended, Schottky diode-based harmonic mixers operating at 3.5 THz and 4.7 THz, respectively. Both mixers utilize a sub-micron size Schottky diode fabricated with circuit elements on a suspended 2 µm-thick GaAs stripline circuit, and then assembled in a waveguide split-block. The diode is closely integrated with the RF-waveguide, resulting in an electrically small and compact circuit. For the 3.5-THz, ×6-harmonic mixer, a conversion loss of about 60 dB was measured at an intermediate frequency (IF) of 200 MHz. The predicted mixer performance versus dc bias agrees well with the measurements. Based on these results, the preliminary design and simulation results of a 4.7-THz, ×8-harmonic mixer, are presented.

In this letter, we report on the performance of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) in which the extrinsic transit frequency ( ${f}_{T}$ ) and maximum frequency of oscillation ( ${f}_{\text {max}}$ ) showed improved scaling behavior with respect to the gate length ( ${L}_{g}$ ). This improvement was achieved by the use of high-quality graphene in combination with successful optimization of the GFET technology, where extreme low source/drain contact resistances were obtained together with reduced parasitic pad capacitances. GFETs with gate lengths ranging from $0.5~\mu \text{m}$ to $\text {2}~\mu \text{m}$ have been characterized, and extrinsic ${f}_{T}$ and ${f}_{\text {max}}$ frequencies of up to 34 and 37 GHz, respectively, were obtained for GFETs with the shortest gate lengths. Simulations based on a small-signal equivalent circuit model are in good agreement with the measured data. Extrapolation predicts extrinsic ${f}_{T}$ and ${f}_{\text {max}}$ values of approximately 100 GHz at ${L}_{g}=\text {50}$ nm. Further optimization of the GFET technology enables ${f}_{\text {max}}$ values above 100 GHz, which is suitable for many millimeter wave applications.

We report room temperature terahertz detection in hBN/graphene/hBN heterostructures. The obtained record combination of high-speed (response time < 1 ns) and high sensitivity (noise equivalent power ~ 100 pWHz-1/2) is enabled by the photo-thermoelectric effect.

Broadband Schottky diode mixers operating at room-temperature are crucial for terahertz heterodyne instrumentation in space-borne applications. In this paper, we present the design of a compact 3.5 THz fundamental single-ended Schottky diode mixer. The design is based on Schottky diodes with a sub-micron anode area, defined using nanolithography techniques, and integrated with suspended strip lines on an ultra-thin GaAs-membrane.

Flexible energy harvesting devices fabricated in scalable thin-film processes are important components in the field of wearable electronics and the Internet of Things. We present a flexible rectenna based on a one-dimensional junction metal-insulator-graphene diode, which offers low-noise power detection at terahertz (THz) frequencies. The rectennas are fabricated on a flexible polyimide film in a scalable process by photolithography using graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. A one-dimensional junction area reduces the junction capacitance and enables operation in the D-band (110 - 170 GHz). The rectenna on polyimide shows a maximum voltage responsivity of 80 V/W at 167 GHz in free space measurements and minimum noise equivalent power of 80 pW/$\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

IEEE journal of microwaves 1(3), 821-826 (2021). doi:10.1109/JMW.2021.3089356, Published by IEEE, [New York, NY]

The CAD design, simulated optical performance, and test measurements of a quasioptical test bench for VNA extenders are presented. The system allows straightforward integration of off axis parabolic mirrors and VNA extenders. The mirror orientation reduces aberrations and results suggest optical properties are close to what is expected with geometric ray tracing.

We report room temperature terahertz detection in hBN/graphene/hBN heterostructures, integrated in top-gated field effect transistors. The record combination of high-speed (response time < 1 ns) and high sensitivity (noise equivalent power ~ 100 pWHz-1I2) is enabled by the photo-thermoelectric effect and paves the way for the design of ultrafast graphene arrays in the far infrared, opening concrete perspectives for targeting ultrafast applications.

This work presents an approach to distinguish the thermoelectric detection mechanism from the resistive mixing or plasma wave rectification in graphene FET THz detectors. Numerical full-wave simulations validate the asymmetric feeding of the existing antenna design and allow for comparison with a reference design of thermoelectric detectors. The experimental results verify quantitively the thermoelectric contribution to the overall rectification, which allows for more accurate modelling of the GFET THz detectors.

Plasma waves play an important role in many solid-state phenomena and devices. They also become significant in electronic device structures as the operation frequencies of these devices increase. A prominent example is field-effect transistors (FETs), that witness increased attention for application as rectifying detectors and mixers of electromagnetic waves at gigahertz and terahertz frequencies, where they exhibit very good sensitivity even high above the cut-off frequency defined by the carrier transit time. Transport theory predicts that the coupling of radiation at THz frequencies into the channel of an antenna-coupled FET leads to the development of a gated plasma wave, collectively involving the charge carriers of both the two-dimensional electron gas and the gate electrode. In this paper, we present the first direct visualization of these waves. Employing graphene FETs containing a buried gate electrode, we utilize near-field THz nanoscopy at room temperature to directly probe the envelope function of the electric field amplitude on the exposed graphene sheet and the neighboring antenna regions. Mapping of the field distribution documents that wave injection is unidirectional from the source side since the oscillating electrical potentials on the gate and drain are equalized by capacitive shunting. The plasma waves, excited at 2 THz, are overdamped, and their decay time lies in the range of 25–70 fs. Despite this short decay time, the decay length is rather long, i.e., 0.3-0.5 μm, because of the rather large propagation speed of the plasma waves, which is found to lie in the range of 3.5–7 × 106 m/s, in good agreement with theory. The propagation speed depends only weakly on the gate voltage swing and is consistent with the theoretically predicted $$\frac{1}{4}$$ 1 4 power law.

IEEE journal of the Electron Devices Society 8, 457-464 (2020). doi:10.1109/JEDS.2020.2988630, Published by IEEE, [New York, NY]

Terahertz spectroscopy is a promising tool for analyzing the picosecond dynamics of biomolecules, which is influenced by surrounding water molecules. However, water causes extreme losses to terahertz signals, preventing sensitive measurements at this frequency range. Here, we present sensitive on-chip terahertz spectroscopy of highly lossy aqueous solutions using a vector network analyzer, contact probes, and a coplanar waveguide with a 0.1-mm-wide microfluidic channel. The complex permittivities of various deionized water/isopropyl alcohol concentration are extracted from a known reference measurement across the frequency range 750–1100 GHz and agrees well with literature data. The results prove the presented method as a high-sensitive approach for on-chip terahertz spectroscopy of high-loss liquids, capable of resolving the permittivity of water.

There is a high demand for compact, room-temperature sources operating at millimeter-wave and terahertz (THz) frequencies for space instruments and terrestrial applications. This part of the electromagnetic spectrum is by far the least explored because of the difficulty of generating energy at these frequencies. Continuous-wave oscillators based on either electronics or photonics are limited in output power for fundamental reasons. Varistor and varactor frequency multipliers have shown outstanding performance in terms of output power, but further technical development will be essential to solve the lack of efficient and compact terahertz sources. In this paper, we present the status of heterostructure barrier varactor (HBV) diode frequency multipliers. The performance and prospects for THz applications in which HBV diode technology can offer advantages over conventional solutions are discussed. For instance, such a device can be easily scaled by increasing the number of barriers to produce and handle higher power. The inherent symmetry confines the power generation to odd harmonics, thereby simplifying the design of high-order frequency multipliers. For example, high-power triplers ( $\times 3$ ), quintuplers ( $\times 5$ ), nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) and grid multipliers utilizing HBV diodes are presented. Overall, HBV technology is a natural stepping stone from high-power microwave amplifiers to higher frequencies and can both simplify and improve the performance of terahertz sources.

A 200-GHz integrated resistive subharmonic mixer based on a single chemical vapor deposition graphene field-effect transistor (G-FET) is demonstrated experimentally. This device has a gate length of 0.5 μm and a gate width of 2x40 μm. The G-FET channel is patterned into an array of bow-tie-shaped nanoconstrictions, resulting in the device impedance levels of ~50 Ω and the ON-OFF ratios of ≥4. The integrated mixer circuit is implemented in coplanar waveguide technology and realized on a 100-μm-thick highly resistive silicon substrate. The mixer conversion loss is measured to be 29 ± 2 dB across the 185-210-GHz band with 12.5-11.5 dBm of local oscillator (LO) pump power and >15-dB LO-RF isolation. The estimated 3-dB IF bandwidth is 15 GHz.

It has been argued that current saturation in graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) is needed to get optimal maximum oscillation frequency (

It has been argued that current saturation in graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) is needed to get the highest possible maximum oscillation frequency (fmax). This paper numerically investigates whether velocity saturation can help to get better current saturation and if that correlates with enhanced fmax. For such a purpose, we used a drift-diffusion simulator that includes several factors that influence output conductance, especially at short channel lengths and-or large drain bias: short-channel electrostatics, saturation velocity, graphene-dielectric interface traps, and self-heating effects. As a testbed for our investigation, we analyzed fabricated GFETs with high extrinsin cutoff frequency fT,x (34 GHz) and fmax (37 GHz). Our simulations allow for a microscopic (local) analysis of the channel parameteres such as carrier concentration, drift and saturation velocities. For biases far away from the Dirac voltage, where the channel behaves as unipolar, we confirmed that the higher is the drift velocity, as close as possible to the saturation velocity, the greater fmax is. However, the largest fmax is recorded at biases near the crossover between unipolar and bipolar behavior, where it does not hold that the highest drift velocity maximizes fmax. In fact, the position and magnitude of the largest fmax depend on the complex interplay between the carrier concentration and total velocity which, in turn, are impacted by the self-heating. Importantly, this effect was found to severely limit radio-frequency performance, reducing the maximum fmax from around 60 to 40 GHz., 14 pages, 11 figures, supplementary material with 13 pages and 5 figures

Efficient and reliable frequency converters, preferably operating at room temperature, are critical components for frequency-stabilizing terahertz sources. In this work, we present the analysis of optimum configurations for Schottky diode based x4, x6, and x8 harmonic mixers operating at 2.3 THz, 3.5 THz, and 4.7 THz respectively. Detailed large-signal analysis of the two basic single-ended Z- and Y-mixers was carried out using a standard Schottky diode model. For each case, the conversion loss was minimized by finding optimal embedding impedances at RF, LO, and IF frequencies. The analysis shows that the Y-mixer has less conversion loss at a low LO pump power. However, the Z-mixer provides reduced loss with increasing harmonic index and pump power due to the associated power dissipation in idler circuits. The results provide preliminary design guidelines for room-temperature frequency converters and their use in phase-locked loop applications.

In this paper, terahertz frequency domain spectroscopy (THz-FDS) in transmission mode is used to study the influence of porosity on effective permittivity in pharmaceutical tablets. Three sets of training tablets with different dielectric constants were generated using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), Benzophenone and Succinic acid. In each set, various compaction forces have been applied to the powders to produce tablets with different porosity. The results show that the extracted effective permittivity is sensitive to the change of porosity in tablets. Moreover, the results confirm that THz-FDS is able to differentiate between tablets with different dielectric constant and a linear correlation between effective permittivity and tablet density is observed. Therefore, THz-FDS technique is shown to be a promising technique for quality inspection of pharmaceutical tablets.

Coupling an electromagnetic wave at GHz to THz frequencies into the channel of a graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) provokes collective charge carrier oscillations of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) known as plasma waves. Here, we report the very first experimental and direct mapping of the electric field distribution in a gated GFET at nanometer length scales using scattering-type scanning near-field microscopy (s-SNOM) at 2 THz. Based on the experimental results we deduce the plasma wave velocity for different gate bias voltages, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction.

Atmospheric science based on space-borne millimeter wave measurements require reliable and state-of-the-art receivers. In particular, the water vapor line at 183.3 GHz motivates the development of sensitive mixers at this frequency. Traditional assembly techniques employed in the production of Schottky diode receivers involve flip-chip mounting and soldering of discrete dies, which prohibit the implementation of reliable and repeatable production processes. In this work, we present a subharmonic 183 GHz mixer implementing a repeatable assembly method using beamlead Schottky diodes. The mixer was integrated with a InP HEMT MMIC low noise intermediate frequency amplifier resulting in a record-low receiver noise temperature of 450 K at 1 mW of local oscillator power measured at room-temperature. The measured Allan time was 10 s and the third order local oscillator spurious power was less than -60 dBm. The proposed assembly method is of particular importance for space-borne missions but also applicable to a wide range of terahertz applications.

We present the development of a compact f/7.3 (D=35 mm) three-mirror reflective telescope for the atmospheric-research microsatellite Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography Spectroscopy (MATS). The telescope design was driven by the end users’ need for a reflective wide-field (5.67°×0.91°) optic with high stray light rejection and six detection channels with separate image sensors, operating at wavelengths 270–772 nm. For the first time, a design method for wide-field off-axis telescopes—in which linear astigmatism is eliminated—was applied and tested in practice. Single-point diamond turning was used to produce two sets of 37–110 mm large free-form aluminum mirrors with surface figure errors and roughness values of 34–62 nm (RMS)/193–497 nm (PV) and 2.8–3.5 nm (RMS), respectively. A method that combines precise machining and geometry measurements (using a coordinate measuring machine) was employed to fabricate an aluminum structure to accurately position the mirrors without the need for manual alignment. The telescope was tested with a network of plate beamsplitters and filters, which define the spectral selection for the six detection channels. Imaging performance measurements were carried out using a reflective off-axis collimator, which projects imaging targets at infinite focus. A modulation transfer function (MTF) value of 0.45 at 20 lp/mm was measured at ∼760 nm (diffraction limit: 0.85) using a slanted edge target. By modeling the measured mirror surfaces in optical design software, a reoptimization of the mirror positions could be performed and an improved MTF of ∼0.75 at 20 lp/mm was predicted. The results demonstrate design- and building methods that can be utilized to make off-axis telescopes for a vast range of applications.

In this work, we demonstrate wide RF and IF bandwidth resistive fundamental terahertz mixers based on graphene field-effect transistors. In the RF frequency range of 220-487 GHz, the 3-dB IF bandwidth is 32 GHz and 56 GHz for the mixers based on graphene field-effect transistors with the gate length of 1.2 μm and 0.6 μm, respectively. The highest conversion efficiency is estimated to be -28 dB at local oscillator power of 13 dBm. This shows that resistive fundamental terahertz mixers based on graphene field-effect transistors are promising for ultrawide band-width applications.

In this work, we analyze high frequency performance of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs), applying models of drain resistance, carrier velocity and saturation velocity. This allows us to identify main limitations and propose an approach most promising for further development of the GFETs suitable for advanced mm-wave amplifiers. Analysis indicates, that the saturation velocity of charge carriers in the GFETs can be increased up to 5.107 cm/s via encapsulating graphene by hexagonal boron nitride layers, with corresponding increase of extrinsic maximum frequency of oscillation up to 180 GHz at 200 nm gate length.