Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

<p>The Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) is a world-class facility, and is the most advanced of its kind in Canada. Through CIARS, researchers are exploring the frontiers of radio science and technology, through research with a range of applications in wireless communication, health, and automotive sectors, among others.&nbsp;<span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">The objective of this NSERC RTI proposal is to overhaul, repair,and to upgrade the high power MaiTai Femtosecond (fs) pulsed laser system and the Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy setup, which are the key systems in the CIARS THz-Photonics laboratory.&nbsp;</span></p> <p>The CIARS Terahertz-Photonic laboratory &nbsp;is essentially an advanced THz generation, detection, and characterization facility. This lab supports far reaching scientific and industrial research in the THz range of frequencies, and explores&nbsp;unique features of the THz spectrum for a wide range of emerging applications, such as THz material characterization/spectroscopy, characterization of THz integrated devices (antenna elements/arrays, mixers, detector arrays), THz diagnosis, sub-millimeter-wave/THz diagnosis, THz imaging, and THz integrated systems like THz camera, which can see through dark environment and opaque objects for a wide range of security applications.</p> <p>Over last seven years, several highly successful research projects&nbsp;have been conducted through the pulsed laser system and photo-mixing setup: novel integrated photo-mixer antennas, THz spectroscopy of pharmaceutical products, bio-medical imaging, and THz camera for security applications.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The laser system is the heart of an advanced Fourier Transform ultra-short pulse THz spectrometer, which is the essential setup in CIARS THz-Photonic lab for material absorption spectrum analysis that is the most fundamental measurement in any material characterization processes, and novel THz device technology development projects. A<span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">lthough the normal life-time of the laser is less than five years, the aforementioned MaiTai laser system has been continuously working and supporting several projects for the past years.&nbsp; The system failed a few months ago, and is in need of a comprehensive overhaul, extensive part replacement, and a full upgrade. In addition, the setup needs new THz photomixers with much higher performance, which are vital in generating and detecting THz waves and upgrading our state-of-the-art THz TD/FT spectroscopy measurement setup. The overhaul and upgrade of the equipment will allow us to continue our leading-edge research in the sub-millimetre-wave/THz spectra, as well as to expand it to emerging multi-spectral imaging and 3-D spectroscopy in THz spectrum.</span></p> <p><span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">The facility will be accessible for training students and academic/industrial&nbsp;</span><span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">researchers and engineers locally and remotely. </span><span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">More than 15 master&rsquo;s and PhD&nbsp;</span><span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">students and 5 to 10 visitors will be regularly using the proposed system for their research and&nbsp;</span><span style=""font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.5em;"">training.&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>