Terahertz Technology Research Team (TRT)

1. Smith-Purcell THz FEL
The Smith-Purcell THz Free Electron Laser source is one of interesting source that can be used for THz imaging system. The potential application is for Non-Destructive testing (NDT), such as packaging inspection and security check. Compared to other electromagnetic bands, THz wave is safer than x-ray and higher resolution than microwave.

2. Metamaterials Microbolometer-based THz Array Detector
THz array detector detects THz signal based on metamaterial absorption and heat-electrical signal conversion. This detector can be applied in THz imaging application, THz camera. The frequency response is in the range of 0.5-2.0 THz.

3. Photoconductive Antenna for THz Generation and Detection
A photoconductive antenna (PCA) is one of the key components in the THz spectroscopy systems. It can act as both the transmitter and the receiver upon the laser excitation. PCA is a semiconductor device that usually consists III-V photoconductive substrate and gold electrodes. We are working on the PCA design optimization by using the FEM based simulation software. At the same time, we are also working on the device fabrication, ranging from substrate development, PCA chips fabrication, and assembling PCA chips to peripheral necessary components to make them readily used by the end user.

4. THz Moisture Imaging System
THz imaging system can be used in several industrial applications mainly for quality inspection and control, such as foreign body detection and moisture measurement in products. Since this imaging system is non-destructive, it would help reduce inspection time, manpower required, and risk of radiation exposure from using an x-ray machine.

5. THz Spectral Fingerprint Databank
Terahertz spectral fingerprint databank is the backbone of terahertz spectroscopy technology. One fascinating property of terahertz is that many polar molecules, especially biomolecules, have fingerprints, i.e. a unique spectral absorption patterns in this region of the electromagnetic wave spectrum. With the fingerprint databank as references, terahertz spectroscopy can be applied in many fields, for example, specific chemical detection and quantification, pharmaceutical drug development, as well as facilitating basic research in molecular biology.

6. LiDAR 3D Mapping for Phuket Smart City

LiDAR or Light Detection and Ranging is one of the methods for distance measurement between LiDAR itself and object surface. Such measurements can be used for site exploration and 3D map construction. The main component of this system consists of a LiDAR sensor, a GPS, an IMU, and a control unit. The acquired measurements can be processed to obtain height, tilt angles, distance between 2 points of interest, as well as latitude and longitude. Thanks to the light source used in LiDAR having short wavelength and frequency not in the visible light region, most LiDARs allow image resolution in the order of millimeters and can be operated during both day and night times.