Marburg, Germany--A research project that aims for the development of new polymer-based lenses for terahertz and sub-millimeter-wave applications is being pursued by the experimental semiconductor physics group of the University of Marburg in cooperation with the South German Plastics Center (SKZ; Wurzburg, Germany). "We anticipate that these polymer-based lenses will provide an improved imaging quality, additional functionality as well as low material and production costs," says professor Martin Koch, head of the Marburg research group.
The increasing technological maturity of terahertz and microwave systems during the last two decades means that innovative technology such as low-cost plastic optics must advance beyond purely scientific interest towards industrial applications. The researchers say that terahertz technology will have a plethora of applications including industrial quality control, security checks, radio astronomy, and wireless communications.
The goal of the project is the development of terahertz lenses based on new mixtures between polymers and additives such as titanium dioxide or alumina powder. "By mixing the polymers with additives their refractive index will be increased. Simultaneously the material mixture should be highly transparent to terahertz waves," explains Koch.
The new terahertz lenses are expected to outperform lenses made of pure base polymers and they could replace more expensive lenses made from pure silicon. The project is funded by the Association of Industrial Research Organizations "Otto von Guericke" (AiF) within the program "Industrial Community Research" (IGF) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economics.
SOURCE: University of Marburg; www.uni-marburg.de/fb13/forschung/experimentelle-halbleiterphysik/agkoch/ag-koch?set_language=en
