Search NASASearch

Engineering topics

Jung, Cecile

Publications and source records attributed to Jung, Cecile.

Array Technology for Terahertz Imaging

Heterodyne terahertz (0.3 - 3THz) imaging systems are currently limited to single or a low number of pixels. Drastic improvements in imaging sensitivity and speed can be achieved by replacing single pixel systems with an array of detectors. This paper presents an array topology that is being developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory based on the micromachining of silicon. This technique fabricates the array's package and waveguide components by plasma etching of silicon, resulting in devices with precision surpassing that of current metal machining techniques. Using silicon increases the versatility of the packaging, enabling a variety of orientations of circuitry within the device which increases circuit density and design options. The design of a two-pixel transceiver utilizing a stacked architecture is presented that achieves a pixel spacing of 10mm. By only allowing coupling from the top and bottom of the package the design can readily be arrayed in two dimensions with a spacing of 10mm x 18mm.

Terahertz

Terahertz Array Receivers with Integrated Antennas

Highly sensitive terahertz heterodyne receivers have been mostly single-pixel. However, now there is a real need of multi-pixel array receivers at these frequencies driven by the science and instrument requirements. In this paper we explore various receiver font-end and antenna architectures for use in multi-pixel integrated arrays at terahertz frequencies. Development of wafer-level integrated terahertz receiver front-end by using advanced semiconductor fabrication technologies has progressed very well over the past few years. Novel stacking of micro-machined silicon wafers which allows for the 3-dimensional integration of various terahertz receiver components in extremely small packages has made it possible to design multi-pixel heterodyne arrays. One of the critical technologies to achieve fully integrated system is the antenna arrays compatible with the receiver array architecture. In this paper we explore different receiver and antenna architectures for multi-pixel heterodyne and direct detector arrays for various applications such as multi-pixel high resolution spectrometer and imaging radar at terahertz frequencies.

direct detector arrays