The objective of this research is to develop a fully-integrated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-based platform for terahertz spectroscopy of bio-molecules. The approach is the development of widely-tunable high-power terahertz signal sources based on device stacking and multi-mode phenomena, coherent terahertz sub-harmonic mixer-based detectors and planar passive transmission-line-based terahertz resonator transducers and associated micro-fluidics for bio-molecular analysis. The intellectual merit of this research lies in the development of new design techniques for terahertz circuits that operate beyond the cutoff frequency of the devices used, and overcome the challenges posed by scaled silicon technologies for terahertz power generation, including low breakdown voltage and high active and passive device loss. Additionally, new concepts will be developed for the interfacing of silicon-based electronics with biological material. The broader impact of the proposed research is its ability to open up new applications for silicon electronics. Silicon electronics lies at the heart of the digital and communication revolutions. The terahertz frequency range offers new applications that could significantly impact quality of life much in the way the digital and communication revolutions have, including low-cost hand-held medical imaging, bio-spectroscopy for bio-molecular recognition and disease diagnosis, and extremely-high-data-rate communication to name a few. The proposed research also furthers efforts to interface silicon electronics with wet biological material, which will impact other applications of silicon electronics in the life sciences. This proposal will allow the investigators to train graduate and undergraduate students in a cross-disciplinary research environment combining physics, nano-scale materials and fabrication, circuit design, and biology applications. Significant effort will be made for K-12 outreach by systematically training highly motivated high school students within the program and also enhancing the interaction with the local K-12 educators through interaction with the Double Discovery Program and the Columbia University Science Research Program.
