In another development in metamaterial research being carried out by researchers from Boston College (BC), the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Boston University have developed a device utilizing a unique metamaterial composite that can control the phase of a terahertz beam 30 times faster and with greater precision than a conventional optical device. According to researcher Willie J. Padilla, “This is a true metamaterial device.” It can be made either transparent or opaque to the beam, a facility that means it can turn on and off very quickly to modulate the beam at very specific frequencies. Device speed is also boosted by the fact that it is solid state with no moving part as compared to the slower optical choppers that function mechanically. Researchers see this latest development as a key step toward the eventual development of terahertz devices such as cameras and scanners and a way to make use of the safe, non-ionizing, and underutilized terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum.See the BC press release online.
THz Breakthrough at BC
