Terahertz radiation

In physics, terahertz radiation – also known as submillimeter radiation, terahertz waves, tremendously high frequency,T-rays, T-waves, T-light, T-lux or THz – consists of electromagnetic waves within the ITU-designated band of frequencies from 0.3 to 3 terahertz (THz; 1 THz = 10¹² Hz). Wavelengths of radiation in the terahertz band correspondingly range from 1 mm to 0.1 mm (or 100 μm). Because terahertz radiation begins at a wavelength of one millimeter and proceeds into shorter wavelengths, it is sometimes known as the submillimeter band, and its radiation as submillimeter waves, especially in astronomy.

Terahertz radiation occupies a middle ground between microwaves and infrared light waves known as the terahertz gap, where technology for its generation and manipulation is in its infancy. It represents the region in the electromagnetic spectrum where the frequency of electromagnetic radiation becomes too high to be measured digitally via electronic counters, so must be measured by proxy using the properties of wavelength and energy. Similarly, the generation and modulation of coherent electromagnetic signals in this frequency range ceases to be possible by the conventional electronic devices used to generate radio waves and microwaves, requiring the development of new devices and techniques.

Intel TeraHertz

Intel TeraHertz was Intel's new design for transistors. It uses new materials such as zirconium dioxide which is a superior insulator reducing current leakages. Using zirconium dioxide instead of silicon dioxide, this transistor can reduce the current leakage, and thus reduces power consumption while still working at higher speed and using lower voltages.

One element of this structure is a "depleted substrate transistor," which is a type of CMOS device where the transistor is built in an ultra-thin layer of silicon on top of an embedded layer of insulation. This ultra-thin silicon layer is fully depleted to maximize drive current when the transistor is turned on, allowing the transistor to switch on and off faster.

In contrast, when the transistor is turned off, unwanted current leakage is minimized by the thin insulating layer. This allows the depleted substrate transistor to have 100 times less leakage than traditional silicon-on-insulator schemes. Another innovation of Intel's depleted substrate transistor is the use of low resistance contacts on top of the silicon layer. The transistor can therefore be very small, very fast and consume less power.