Course syllabus

Course-PM

RRY071 Millimeter wave and THz technology lp2 HT23(7.5 hp)

This course is offered by the Department of Space, Earth, and Environment.

• Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen: Study plan
• The course PM can be downloaded in PDF format here

Course purpose

This course is designed to introduce students to the challenges associated with generating, detecting, and guiding electromagnetic radiation at millimeter wavelengths (MM-waves) and Terahertz (THz) frequencies. Throughout the course, students will attend lectures covering these topics, complemented by a project that integrates laboratory work to develop practical skills. The project work, guided by instructors, will allow students to focus on a specific problem related to the course content.

The primary objective of this course is to equip students with a broad understanding of millimeter and sub-millimeter (Terahertz) technologies, with applications in fields such as industrial processes, instrumentation for radio astronomy, environmental science, and other relevant domains.

Learning objectives:

After completing this course, students should be able to:

• Understand the principles of building and methods for characterizing low-noise receivers for millimeter and Terahertz bands.
• Understand the limitations and advantages of MMIC, bolometric, and heterodyne receivers and be able to choose the appropriate technology for specific frequency bands and applications.
• Understand the basic principles of operation of superconducting detectors and mixer components such as TES, HEB, and SIS.
• Understand the principles of building cryogenic HEMT amplifiers and conducting Y-factor measurements of device noise temperature.
• Understand the principles of Gaussian beam techniques and be able to simulate basic configurations for coupling millimeter and Terahertz receivers with antenna beams.
• Understand the basic principles, limitations, and advantages of using Terahertz waveguides.
• Understand the principles of generating millimeter-wave and Terahertz radiation.
• Apply knowledge of low-noise receiver technology to various applications, including radio astronomy, environmental science observations, and other fields.

Contact details

Schedule and location

All lectures will be held in GARDeroben. You can find the room on the Chalmers campus map via the following [link].

The detailed schedule is provided in the table below and is also available on TimeEdit.

Course design

Course content

The course builds on the students' prior knowledge of microwave techniques, transmission line theory, and general physics principles. The course material covers the following topics:

• Noise and receiver properties at millimeter (mm) and submillimeter (sub-mm) frequencies, including cryogenically operated receivers.
• Antenna-receiver coupling: Gaussian beam techniques and Terahertz waveguides.
• Receiver types: direct detection (bolometric) and heterodyne, both quasi-optical and waveguide-based; fundamentals of receiver operation, configurations, and applications.
• Bolometric receivers: theory, practical designs, and examples.
• Heterodyne SIS receivers: theory, design, examples, and superconducting tuning circuits.
• HEB heterodyne receivers: theory, design, and examples.
• Terahertz MMICs: theory, design, and examples.
• Generation of mm and sub-mm waves: sources for local oscillators.
• HEMT cryogenic amplifiers: theory, design, and examples.
• Superconductivity and thin-film processing for cryogenic and superconducting components: review of methods and technologies.

Please note that the Project and Laboratory work are integrated into a single package. Students, working in pairs, will choose a project and collaboratively navigate the phases of device development. This involves literature review, prototype design selection, optimization via HFSS simulations, and final performance measurement during laboratory sessions.

Throughout the project, teachers will provide guidance and advice during five scheduled occasions. Each student will present the final project results individually, although group members can share presentation slides.

Course organisation

The course consists of approximately 19 lectures, laboratory work, and a course project. A list of project topics will be provided, allowing students to pursue deeper studies on selected areas of the course material.

Please note that all course activities are compulsory and require student attendance.

Course literature

There is no dedicated course book. The recommended literature covers a wide course material, including journal papers and books and will be provided via direct links to pdf files or links via Chalmers Library access.

All necessary material such as Lab-manuals, lectures notes will be available on the course homepage.

Examination form:

To successfully pass the course, the student must:

1. Have attended at least 85% of the lectures.
2. Successfully completed the laboratory exercises.
3. Performed the project work.
4. Gather at least a total of 24 points (of maximum 60) from the quiz, project and final oral examination on a tbd date.

Changes made since the last occasion

Please note that the Project and Laboratory work are now integrated into one package. Students in group of 2 choose the project where they together go through the phases of device development by studying literature, choosing prototype design, optimizing it via simulations and finally measure performance of the designed device during laboratory measurements. We assume that during the entire project teachers help and advise students, 5 occasions are considered in the schedule. Final presentation of the project and its results are presented by each student individually. Students from the same group may share the presentation slides.