Contact Jerry Pignolet, Power
Marketing/Public Relations, at 440-527-0446.
CLEVELAND
– September 27, 2006 – Teraphysics Corporation has received a
$100,000 Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer contract
from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for the
development of a miniature 95 gigahertz amplifier for high power
radar and communications applications.
In collaboration with RTI-International of Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina, Teraphysics will employ state
of the art microfabrication technology in the development of a
diamond studded micro helix traveling wave tube (TWT). The
device will be designed by Teraphysics adapting technology
previously patented by the company. Fabrication experiments to
establish the feasibility of the design will be conducted at RTI
and the Teraphysics facility in
Cleveland.
“This contract is intended not only to
develop an amplifier with a wide range of military and
commercial applications, but to explore the applicability of
fabrication techniques that have not previously been utilized in
this technical area,” said Dr. Jim Dayton, chief technology
officer for Teraphysics and principal investigator on the
contract.
Teraphysics primarily develops compact and
efficient devices that operate in or near the terahertz band,
the only commercially untapped portion of the electro-magnetic
spectrum. The company has engineered the world’s first
palm-sized signal source operating in the valuable terahertz
frequency range capable of broad commercial and military
applications.
The company has received 12 development
contracts from seven government agencies for total federal
funding of $4 million since August 2002. Four are SBIR Phase II
contracts.
The Air Force wants to develop a new class
of miniature high power transmitters for operation at 95
gigahertz. At the same time, they seek to apply to vacuum
electronics the manufacturing opportunities offered by
microfabrication technology initially developed for other areas.
Dayton
and the Teraphysics team will develop the novel 95 gigahertz
traveling wave tube by combining proven computer aided design
techniques, the company’s proprietary application of
nanotechnology for laboratory-grown diamond and RTI’s
microfabrication expertise.
The
typical TWT, used in nearly all microwave and millimeter wave
transmitters, has a helical wire coil supported within a metal
barrel by ceramic rods. However, conventional fabrication
techniques have limited the helical TWT performance range to
less than 60 gigahertz. To achieve 95 gigahertz in this device,
the ceramic rods will be replaced by diamond studs and the helix
will be fabricated using novel lithographic techniques rather
than winding a metal wire around a mandrel.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Teraphysics Corporation, a Cleveland,
Ohio-based company, develops devices that operate in millimeter
frequencies and the sub-millimeter terahertz band, the only
commercially untapped portion of the electro-magnetic spectrum.
The company has engineered the world’s first palm-sized
terahertz signal source capable of broad application for
operation in this coveted frequency range. Teraphysics is part
of Genvac Holdings, a privately-held company.
