If The Private Sector Has Recently Announced The Development Of Terahertz Technology, The NSA Has Likely Been Using Such Technology For Decades
"This year, 2007, has also brought the news that terahertz lasers small enough to incorporate into portable devices had been developed.[17]
Sandia National Laboratories in the US in collaboration with MIT have produced a transmitter-receiver (transceiver) that enables a number of applications. In addition to scanning for explosives, we may also assume their integration into hand-held communication systems. ‘These semiconductor devices have output powers which previously could only be obtained by molecular gas lasers occupying cubic meters and weighing more than 100kg, or free electron lasers weighing tons and occupying buildings.’ As far back as 1996 the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board predicted that the development of electromagnetic energy sources would ‘open the door for the development of some novel capabilities that can be used in armed conflict, in terrorist/hostage situations, and in training’ and ‘new weapons that offer the opportunity of control of an adversary … can be developed around this concept’.[18]
The surveillance technology of today is the surveillance of the human mind and, through access to the brain and nervous system, the control of behaviour and the body’s functions. The messaging of auditory hallucinations has given way to silent techniques of influencing and implanting thoughts.
The development of the terahertz technologies has illuminated the workings of the brain, facilitated the capture of emitted photons which are derived from the visual cortex which processes picture formation in the brain, and enabled the microelectronic receiver which has, in turn, been developed by growing unique semi-conductor crystals. In this way, the technology is now in place for the detection and reading of spectral ‘signatures’ of gases. All humans emit gases. Humans, like explosives, emit their own spectral signature in the form of a gas.
With the reading of the brain’s electrical frequency, and of the spectral gas signature, the systems have been established for the control of populations – and with the necessary technology integrated into a cell-phone."
References: Thz Lasers Small Enough for Screening Devices:
www.photonics.com/content/news/2007/February/7/86317.aspx
Terahertz laser has x-ray vision
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times
(03/23/2007 10:08 AM EDT)
Sandia National Laboratory reports that its Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge is on track to enable a portable device that harnesses what it claims to be the world's first dime-sized terahertz transceiver to create a scanner capable of detecting hazardous and toxic materials, even if underneath clothing. The terahertz-laser-based device could also detect hazardous gases floating in the air, a newly revealed risk that will be reported on separately next week at the American Chemical Society's national meeting, in Chicago. The three-year Grand Challenge aims to demonstrate a working prototype of the integrated terahertz transceiver by next year.
"Our aim with the Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge is to enable detection of hazardous, toxic materials by creating a compact, completely solid-state integrated terahertz transceiver," said Mike Wanke, principal investigator at Sandia National Laboratories, "instead of [the] bulky, cubic-meter-sized molecular-gas terahertz lasers, or the even larger free-electron lasers, required today."
Sandia National Laboratories is currently experimenting with air preconcentration techniques to enable the direct identification of toxic vapors by shining the terahertz transceiver into them and reading out their spectral signature with the device. Wanke believes that, by working in tandem with mass spectrometer-based systems, devices can also be crafted to produce very low false alarm rates in chemical-detection systems.
The enabling technology for the terahertz transceiver is the development of terahertz quantum cascade lasers by Sandia National Laboratories and others, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Only about the size of a grain of rice, these solid-state lasers are capable of generating terahertz laser beams with output power exceeding 100 milliwatts. These minute devices should enable the entire hazardous material detector to be held over suspicious packages to instantly determine what's inside. Sandia National Laboratories reports that it and its partners are the only U.S. institutions to have so far demonstrated the ability to fabricate the semiconductor materials necessary to create a terahertz quantum cascade laser. Sandia's expert in molecular beam epitaxy deposition, research scientist John Reno, has perfected the deposition technique for laying down the necessary alternating atomic layers of semiconducting materials onto a gallium arsenide substrate.
"We spent the first year of the Grand Challenge integrating the microelectronics with the device physics to develop the terahertz laser and other components," said Wanke. "Now we are combining them into an integrated terahertz transceiver, the core enabling element for our portable device."
Terahertz radiation lies between microwaves and infrared, and has been harnessed for years by radio astronomers and atmospheric scientists, who have already developed databases of terahertz spectral signatures to identify chemicals in nebulae and planetary atmospheres.
"The current devices are [the size of a] washing machine," said Greg Hebner, program manager for the Grand Challenge. "We are reducing the size, weight and power requirements, as well as expanding the existing spectral databases."
By creating the technology infrastructure, as well as a working prototype, the Sandia program aims to demonstrate a highly integrated miniaturized terahertz transmitter-receiver (transceiver) that could eventually enable handheld devices. Besides detecting concealed weapons or hazardous materials, the handheld terahertz-laser scanning device could also be used in advanced communications and radar systems.
"The infrastructure needed to move the terahertz technology from the laboratory to the field is unavailable right now," said Wanke. "Our project aims to develop that infrastructure and invent the necessary technologies, not only for our hazardous material detector, but also for applications in advanced communication systems and high-resolution radars."
With the miniaturized terahertz quantum cascade laser in hand, Wanke's team is currently integrating its transceiver into a package capable of identifying materials by comparing their spectral signatures to those in their growing database of hazardous substances.
"We are only scratching the surface of what terahertz-based scanners can detect," said Wanke. "This is relatively uncharted territory--there are a lot of scientific discoveries yet to come out of it."
The Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge is in its second of three years of funding through Sandia's internal Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, which is supervised by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Source EETimes:
http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198500313
Also see:
THz Lasers Small Enough for Screening Devices
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Feb. 7, 2007 -- It might not be science fiction for long: Miniaturized terahertz laser technology may enable the use of a revolutionary new technique that detects dangerous materials through analysis of their unique molecular signatures.
Sandia National Laboratories, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has developed semiconductor lasers small enough to put into portable devices. Working in the underutilized terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies between microwaves and infrared, the scientists are building a highly integrated miniaturized THz transmitter-receiver (transceiver) that could make a number of applications possible. These could scan for items such as concealed weapons or materials, explosives and weapons of mass destruction. THz microelectronic transceivers may also find applications in advanced communication systems and high-resolution radars.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Wanke, principal investigator of the Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge, holds a miniaturized device that he said will eventually replace large pieces of equipment like those in the background. (Photo by Bill Doty)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The basic technique is now used by atmospheric scientists and astronomers, who use large-scale lasers to probe planetary atmospheres and to peer into the depths of nebulae by utilizing the THz portion of the spectrum. Sandia is developing the next generation of screening devices, which will identify hazardous and toxic materials even if concealed by clothing and packaging materials.
The project, the Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge, is in its second of three years of funding through Sandia’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.
Mike Wanke, principal investigator, said the infrastructure needed to move the terahertz technology from the laboratory to the field is unavailable right now, but "We want to develop that infrastructure and invent the necessary technologies.”
Wanke said that over the past three years, “The terahertz situation has begun to change dramatically, primarily due to the revolutionary development of terahertz quantum cascade lasers.”
These tiny lasers are semiconductor sources of terahertz radiation capable of output powers in excess of 100 mW. Previously, such powers could only be obtained by molecular gas lasers occupying cubic meters and weighing more than 100 kg, or free-electron lasers weighing tons and occupying entire buildings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miniaturized device shown next to a dime. Miniaturized terahertz laser technology may enable the use of a revolutionary new technique that detects dangerous materials through analysis of their unique molecular signatures. (Photo courtesy Sandia National Laboratories)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantum cascade laser-based systems can be less than the size of a baseball and can be powered from a nine-volt battery. Sandia has been a leader in developing this new technology and in collaboration with MIT is responsible for several world-performance records for the lasers. Also, Sandia and its partners are the only US institutions that have demonstrated the ability to grow the unique semiconductor crystals such that they can be turned into operating terahertz quantum cascade lasers. The crystals are grown by Sandia research scientist John Reno, an expert in molecular beam epitaxy -- a method of laying down layers of materials with atomic thicknesses onto substrates.
Sandia researchers spent the first year of the Grand Challenge using Sandia’s unique strengths in integrated microelectronics and device physics to develop components that are now being combined to create an integrated THz microelectronic transceiver, a core enabling element.
The team is currently developing the receiver, doing systems tests and exploring packaging requirements. At the end of three years, the researchers expect to have an actual working prototype capable of detecting the materials and chemicals by reading distinctive molecular spectral “signatures.”
“Most materials and chemicals have their own unique terahertz spectral signatures,” Wanke says. “A terahertz transceiver system would be able to measure, for example, the signature of a gas and determine what it is.”
“Atmospheric scientists and radio astronomers have spent years developing terahertz spectral signature databases to identify chemicals in nebula and planetary atmospheres,” said Greg Hebner, program manager. “Even though the current devices are washing machine-sized, they are located in a few observatories, and one is even flying on a satellite. To address specific national security problems, we are working on reducing the size, weight and power requirement as well as expanding the existing spectral databases.”
In addition to monitoring for concealed hazardous materials, Mike believes a terahertz system can be used to monitor the air for toxic materials. Using air sampling technology developed at Sandia and other locations, hazardous vapors can be preconcentrated. Shining light from the quantum cascade laser through the concentrated sample provides a direct identification of the vapor. This technology can be used in conjunction with existing mass spectrometer-based systems to reduce false identifications.
“We are very optimistic about working in the terahertz electromagnetic spectrum,” Wanke says. “This is an unexplored area, and a lot of science can come out of it. We are just beginning to scratch the surface of what THz can do to improve national security.”
Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corp., a Lockheed Martin company, for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia has R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and in economic competitiveness.
Source: Photonics.com
For more information, visit: http://www.sandia.gov/
<< Home