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Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a research program from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to develop a low-power ultrafast photo-conductive optoelectronic switch.

Terahertz frequency devices have the potential to disrupt wireless communication, medical imaging and security fields if their power budget decreases significantly. PSI is leveraging recent advances in photonic design and materials processing to greatly reduce the power required to operate an ultrafast switch, the backbone of terahertz technologies. The photoconductive optoelectronic switch will leverage advances in materials development, metamaterials, and nanophotonics to reduce the operating power to below 0.1 milliwatts without sacrificing bandwidth or signal to noise ratio in a commercially scalable, cost effective process.

The terahertz frequency range has long held promise as the future home for a wide variety of wireless technologies, chemical sensors and medical diagnostic equipment. Low power optoelectronic switches could enable new bands for ultra-high bandwidth wireless communication, improve surveillance and security at high-importance sites such as airports, improve stand-off detection of chemical compounds for threat identification, enable less-invasive alternatives to x-ray and CT scans in the field of medical imaging, and provide improved quality control methods in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and food processing industries.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Joel Hensley
Vice President, Photonics Enterprise

[hensley@psicorp.com](mailto: hensley@psicorp.com)
Physical Sciences Inc.
Telephone: (978) 689-0003