SBIR Phase I: Laser Machining of Terahertz Waveguide & Microscopy Components

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop engineered wire waveguides for time-domain terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging systems. Design of waveguides for various materials will be accomplished by finite element modeling and finite time difference simulation. The precision waveguide shapes will be produced by advance laser micromachining techniques, as an alternative to chemical etching methods while are difficult to control or reproduce. The broader impact of this program will be to enable new commercial opportunities in industrial non-destructive evaluation as well as innovative and important research areas such as near-field microscopy, characterization of metamaterials and determination of surface charge on conductive polymers used in solar cells and organic light emitting diodes (LEDs). The implementation of practical THz waveguides will simplify THz technology and reduce its cost and expand its use. This project involves graduate and undergraduate students, preparing them for innovative work in a rapidly developing high tech field.