Waikato professor wins Agilent Foundation grant

university-of-waikato

Tue Feb 17 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Waikato professor wins Agilent Foundation grant

Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 10:46 am
Press Release: University of Waikato

Media Release
February 17, 2009

A Waikato University professor and student have won funding to create a device to measure high frequency radiation waves.

Professor Jonathan Scott, from Waikato’s engineering department, has received a $43,000 Agilent Foundation grant to work on ways to measure terahertz radiation – high frequency waves which operate in between microwave and infrared.

Manmade terahertz radiation is just starting to find application. For example, it is used in new airport security cameras that can see through clothing and detect weapons, but there is currently no way to traceably measure the amount of energy emitted.

The US-based Agilent Foundation supports initiatives that will have a lasting effect in the field of science education around the world. It also funds university research at the frontiers of measurement in electronics, chemical and bio sciences. In the past few weeks, the foundation has given out $US1.7 million in grants around the world.

Prof Scott will use his Agilent grant to fund Waikato University masters student Mark Jones’ work on creating a sensor to measure terahertz radiation. They plan to present the work to Agilent next year and at an International Microwave Symposium.

Prof Scott says a measuring device is likely to take the form of a waveguide – a metal tube less than 1mm square and about 10mm long, which holds an integrated circuit in the path of the waves and can detect their minute heating effect.

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“It’s going to be leading edge technology for measuring the standard, traceable amount of energy at a frequency which we call millimetre waves,” Prof Scott says.

Theoretically, terahertz radiation could be used for several purposes, such as 3D imaging of teeth, safe imaging of body tissue, high-altitude telecommunications, and even quality control in manufacturing where it can see through plastic and cardboard.

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