This proposal addresses the advances in Terahertz sensors and analysis required to implement Terahertz in a production environment for lithium-ion battery technology. This will be done in conjunction with key customers and leading academic collaborators in the field. An important challenge in lithium-ion battery production is to optimize the manufacturing process for electrode coatings (cathode & anode) to improve and optimise capacity whilst reducing and controlling manufacturing costs. Coatings are the 2nd stage is what can be a 6 stage manufacturing process overall. Addressing issues and optimising production at the coating stage can result in better product and enormous cost savings. With more than 60 plants for lithium-ion battery production currently being built in the EU and North America alone, a solution that helps address scale up and production bottlenecks is very timely and important to implement in the near future. Key performance indicators that determine electrode performance include coating density, thickness and conductivity. To date, there have been no sensor technologies capable of simultaneously measuring all three of these quantities accurately and rapidly during the in-line coating process. Terahertz sensors offer a solution that provides coating density, thickness and conductivity in one measurement. Terahertz sensors also have a successful track record in other in-line coating production applications. The coating density and thickness measured by Terahertz will dictate the capacity of the coatings used on the lithium-ion battery electrodes, and so will be the ultimate factors to optimise by changing the coating gap, line speed and other key parameters in coating production.
The proposed project is transformative in terms of producing innovative technology that moves Terahertz inspection into the real three-dimensional world, and dramatically increases the breadth and depth of market opportunities for Terahertz products.
Our proposal will move Terahertz measurements of industrial coating thickness from its current limitations to two dimensional, largely planar objects into the three-dimensional world involving contoured surfaces and complex shapes. The ground-breaking 3D mapping platform developed in this project builds upon and will dramatically enhance the capabilities of TeraView's existing TeraCota system for measuring industrial coating thickness in the automotive industry. This innovation will also open up new markets in aerospace and other industrial coatings applications for the TeraCota system.
COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated the need for improved internet connectivity and broadband capabilities, highlighting the need for higher bandwidth. There are an estimated 1.5 billion children who need online schooling (with 30,000 schools in the UK alone closed), and businesses world-wide have moved their operations online. In addition, reports emphasize that the transition to digital learning and business will be especially challenging within lower-income and disadvantages neighbourhoods where broadband adoption rates more often rely [on wireless][0] connections. High speed, wireless technology will therefore be increasingly be an important to both enhance connectivity to combat the economic effects of the virus as well as ensuring equal access to high quality internet for a more inclusive society. To address this challenge, emerging 5G and 6G wireless platforms will use progressively higher frequencies in the 100 Gigahertz (GHz)-1Terahertz (THz) range to achieve 1 Terabit (1012 bit) per second data rates required for broadband. A recent Photonics report stated "**It is not surprising that the THz band has become the promised land for the envisioned next generation of wireless communication---6G**".
Development of devices (transceivers and circuits) at these 6G frequencies requires test & measurement equipment operating at these frequencies. Existing equipment based on vector network analysers provides continuous frequency coverage up to only ~ 30GHz, and with limited (banded) coverage available thereafter. Such systems are also prone to errors, e.g. in measuring the phase of data stitched between different frequency bands, as well as the errors arising when probing small samples.
TeraView is the pioneer in the commercialization and development of Terahertz systems, and is in a unique position to develop and deploy a system optimised for test and measurement of materials for use in Terabit communications
The project has direct benefits to the UK economy, ensuring that TeraView continues as the world-leader in Terahertz technology. It also enables the UK to play a role in emerging global discussion on the allocations of the new frequency band for 6G.
[0]: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/20/smartphones-help-blacks-hispanics-bridge-some-but-not-all-digital-gaps-with-whites/
The project will develop a new, rapid and non-destructive test instrument for predicting tablet efficacy and performance, based on direct measurements of tablet porosity using terahertz light. In so doing, we expect to contribute to manufacturing efficiency improvements in production of advanced solid dose medicines. Our technology will initially be marketed as a test which can work alongside existing methods (dissolution/disintegration and hardness testing) to improve tablet quality during the design process. The ultimate goal is to act as a real-time, in-line test and feedback mechanism as the industry moves towards Continuous Manufacturing.
Terahertz (THz) radiation lies between microwave and infra-red in the electromagnetic spectrum. Many materials are partially transparent to THz allowing their internal structure to be examined. THz can also be used for spectroscopic identification. This particular project is aimed at enhancing the imaging application which can be used for measurement of the thickness of layers and coatings. A specific example relevant here is the automotive industry where control of thickness of paint layers is critical. This project is a collaboration between TeraView Ltd, which is commercialising THz technology, and the Photonics Group in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, which is expert in the growth of compound semiconductors on other materials. The two organisations are collaborating to produce a new generation of THz sensors which will operate at higher frequencies than at present which, in turn, will allow thinner films to be measured with greater accuracy. In addition, the comparatively small sensor head can be connected to the rest of the system by an optical fibre so allowing it to be some distance away for convenient use in a factory setting.
New paint production processes in the automotive industry have the potential to be much more cost and materials efficient but require higher levels of process monitoring than are currently available. With its terahertz technology, TeraView Ltd has developed a Technology Demonstrator to rapidly measure simultaneously several coating layers in a non-contact manner. The prototype has been successfully trialled in car plants in the UK and USA. In this proposed project we will take the device from Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 4 to MRL 6. Several car manufacturers have expressed interest in applying this technology to assist in monitoring and control of the painting process. The project represents a sizeable business opportunity and, in using terahertz, introduces a new sensor technology to the automotive industry.
The proposed project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing pulsed emitter/detector arrays for true broadband 3D terahertz imaging. Typically, current pulsed terahertz systems create images by raster-scanning a point source. Whilst this is acceptable to establish the potential of terahertz in providing the necessary materials characterisation, current throughput falls short of requirements for industrial quality assurance and process monitoring. Pulsed terahertz arrays are therefore seen as an enabling technology for this lucrative, high volume markets.
The treatment of some chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis sometimes requires more than a typical tablet or ‘pill’ can deliver. A new generation of so-called ‘biopharmaceutical’ medicines includes substances which cannot be swallowed because they are destroyed in the stomach. These include ‘monoclonal antibodies’, or mAbs, which are injected subcutaneously (just below the skin). The preference is for near painless injections through a narrow bore needle. This demands that the industry make concentrated doses in small volumes, retaining low viscosity to allow injection. We need to better understand the phenomenon by which an increase in concentration is sometimes related to unacceptable increases in viscosity. The project team from MedImmune, TeraView and the Universities of Cambridge and Sheffield will develop a new analytical technique using Terahertz radiation, which lies between infrared and microwave radiation. Using this new technique we will improve our understanding of the manner in which mAbs interact with each other in high concentration solutions, and in doing so be able to make better medicines.
New paint production processes in the automative industry have the potential to be much more cost and materials efficient but require higher levels of process monitoring than are currently available. With its terahertz technology, TeraView Ltd has demonstrated the offline ability to rapidly measure simultaneously several coating layers in a non-contact manner. In this project, we will develop a technology demonstrator to monitor coating thickness in real time on the production line. Several car manufacturers including Ford UK, a consortium member, have expressed interest in applying this technology to assist in monitoring and control of the painting process. The project represents an initial £70M+ business opportunity and, in terahertz, introduces a new sensor technology to the automotive industry. Technical innovations include real time signal processing, roboting control of the terahertz sensor and creation of a ruggedised sensor suitable for industrial deployment.
GRD Development of Prototype
TeraView has developed a state-of-the-art system (Fig A2) for fault location in semiconductor packages, based on its proprietary terahertz pulse generation and detection technology. This system is used for failure analysis (FA) on semiconductor packages. Pins, balls or pads are selected for probing using a manual micropositioning system. Measurements can typically be made every few minutes, including the time required for ball/pin selection and contacting.
The system works by sending a terahertz pulse into the total package along the interconnects. The magnitude and phase of subsequent reflections reveal the presence and location of open circuits, short circuits and resistive contacts. Customers include Intel and Samsung. This project will develop a prototype test equipment for fast and automated inspection of advanced Integrated Circuit (IC) packages used in mobile computing devices such as smart phones and tablet computing devices. It is estimated that 74% of 2012 semiconductor growth will be in such devices. Device miniaturisation demands much improved resolution in fault detection which current techniques are unable to offer. Further, it requires many silicon dies to be connected together in a package. The lack of reliability of the connections between two dies is an additional failure mechanism, the location of which cannot be easily determined by existing technology. This is a major problem but is one which our technology is uniquely able
to solve.
Intra-operative terahertz probe for breast cancer surgery