Project
Task: EXCELLENCE IN TERAHERTZ RESEARCH AND APPLIED SCIENCES (EXTHRAS) [acronym: EXTHRAS] implemented under the “Assistance in the process of preparing proposals for the Teaming for Excellence competition” measure.
Description
The terahertz region of the electromagnetic wave spectrum is becoming increasingly important, mainly due to the growing need for quick and capacious wireless communication on the part of individual and collective users, as well as from companies. In order to meet these needs, four spectrum ranges between 275 and 450 GHz have been allocated, and soon more will follow. However, there is an obstacle to the mass use of THz: a lack of cheap and effective emitters, detectors and auxiliary elements such as amplifiers and antennae. The very same reason stands in the way of the development of other applications of THz waves, i.e., systems for imaging, detection, remote analysis of structures and their composition, which would find use in Industry 4.0, in state-of-the-art vehicles, as well as in areas of health, protection and safety.
Basic and applied research into THz is already conducted in many Western European countries, but Central and Eastern Europe is lagging behind. The project aims to create a Centre of Excellence in TeraHertz Research and Applied Sciences (EXTHRAS) in Warsaw thanks to a consortium of three domestic partners (Warsaw University of Technology and its nanotechnological hub CEZAMAT, the Institute of High Pressure Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Łukasiewicz Research Network Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics) and two foreign institutions – France’s Institute for Electronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnology CNRS, and Germany’s Goethe University in Frankfurt. By using the synergy from the partners’ resources and competences, as well as domestic and EU-funded investments, by improving management, attracting top specialists, developing international cooperation and making infrastructure widely available, it will be possible to effectively deliver a research agenda, as well as develop and create elements of the value chain. In this way, the potential of terahertz waves will be released and the development of entrepreneurship in this area will be stimulated, both of which will have a long-term beneficial effect on the economy and wider society. A well-functioning Centre will also serve as a positive example for the stimulation of higher education and scientific research reform in Poland.
Financing
The project is financed by the National Centre for Research and Development under the “Assistance in the process of preparing proposals for the Teaming for Excellence competition” measure.
Leader
Warsaw University of Technology Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT
Partners
Institute of High Pressure Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics
Project no.
TfE/I/45/EXTHRAS/2022
Project value
Entire project: PLN 300 000.00
WUT: PLN 200 000.00