Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

With increasing threats of international terrorism and its devastating impact on our daily lives and economy, there has been a growing interest worldwide in developing reliable personnel surveillance at airport checkpoints, government buildings, public transit centers, and public meeting places. This research project aims to explore the feasibility of harnessing the potential of the emerging field of terahertz technology to develop novel, non-intrusive, safe and utracompact inspection systems for security and surveillance applications. The specific objectives are 1) to develop ultrasensitive detection sensors known as the terahertz eye (THz eye) that can see through visually opaque materials, and 2) to build a surveillance system that can achieve automatic and non-intrusive detection of concealed weapons and a wide range of explosives. The proposed research program contains the following components: 1) developing novel nanoscale THz detectors that yield maximum sensitivity and a fast response time; 2) designing an integrated chip of THz detector arrays, serving as prototypes of building blocks for constructing larger area arrays "THz eye" camera; 3) investigating advanced image processing technologies to enhance the image resolution and enable automatic and non-intrusive identification of concealed weapons; and 4) explore innovative methodologies to extract information about the chemical composition of the concealed object and detect potential low-level traces of explosives. The proposed research is both strategic and timely, since not only does it address the shortcomings of the existing security systems in Canada, but also the knowledge, innovations, and training of highly qualified personnel resulting from the project will strongly enhance Canada's competitiveness. Interaction with Canadian companies including Micralyne, Bubble Technology Industries, and a Crown Corporation (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority) will help establish the country's early leadership with respect to this potentially crucial technology.