Our researchers are involved in the work at CENTERA (Center for Terahertz Research and Applications) – founded by world-class Polish physicists: Professor Wojciech Knap (head of the centre) and Professor Tomasz Skotnicki. The centre was established to deal with research on the fundamental and applicable properties of terahertz radiation. This kind of work is still pioneering around the world since the use of terahertz usually involves high requirements, mainly financial ones.

Polish researchers, including those at WUT, find and develop alternative solutions.

Polish transistors

The team at WUT headed by Professor Tomasz Skotnicki and Professor Romuald Beck (both from the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology at WUT) is working on the Polish technologies of manufacturing transistors. The basis, i.e. knowledge and skills on how to build small and cheap detectors and emitters targeted at mass consumers, is already there. Researchers utilise silicon production lines for this purpose. This way there is no need to generate terahertz radiation with a costly optical method.

Our researchers are conducting their research at CEZAMAT - the Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies at WUT.

Utilising graphene

Last year a paper was published in the ‘Physical Review X’ journal which proves that terahertz radiation is strengthened by special structures based on graphene. Such properties may be widely applied, e.g. in telecommunications.  

The implementation of such ideas requires combining the knowledge researchers at CENTERA have about terahertz radiation and the experience of graphene experts who work in the team headed by Professor Mariusz Zdrojek at the Faculty of Physics at WUT.  For this reason, the Warsaw University of Technology intends to create a common research centre that will aim to implement the project of terahertz antennas and other devices to be used in medicine, pharmacy, and quality control.

Expanded cooperation

Close cooperation of our leadingresearch centresis key to the development of terahertz technologies in Poland. An alliance of CENTERA, Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), and WUT is planned. This alliance provides new opportunities, mostly for devising solutions quickly and their immediate launch in the market.  

CENTERA – Center for Terahertz Research and Applications –is an R&D centre funded by the Foundation for Polish Science within the programme International Research Agendas (MAB). Its founding fathers are world-class physicists - Professors Wojciech Knap and Tomasz Skotnicki, who have been working on pioneer research on terahertz radiation.

More information on the work and plans of the centre in the article on www.polityka.pl and CENTERA website.