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Plenary Speakers

Brian Schmidt AC FAA FRS FTSE is Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the Australian National University. For his work on the accelerating universe, Brian Schmidt was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter. Schmidt has worked across many areas of Astronomy including supernovae, gamma ray Bursts, gravitational wave transients, exo-planets, and metal poor stars. Receiving his PhD from Harvard University in 1993, Schmidt joined the staff of the Australian National University in 1995. He served as the 12 th Vice Chancellor and President of the Australia National University from 2016-2023.

Australian National University

We live in a time of high paced astrophysical discovery, powered by a rapid increase in the sensitivity of telescopes that span a vast range of electro magnetic wavelengths, and include detectors working with particles and gravitational waves. These observations are enabling investigations into  everything from the formation of our solar system to the first stars in the universe. In this plenary talk, I will describe the state of Astronomy in 2024 at the broadest levels, covering questions such as: How did our solar system form, and is it typical? What are we learning about exo-planets, and are their other Earth-like planets? How did the Milky Way and other galaxies evolve to their current state. How do we detect black holes, and why are they so big and so common? How does the Universe evolve over time, and how have we come to measure its properties so accurately?  And finally, what can we expect from future observations with respect to discovery over the coming decades?

A/Prof Elisabete da Cunha is an astrophysicist at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research at the University of Western Australia. She researches how galaxies such as our own Milky Way have formed and evolved over 13.8 billion years of cosmic history. To do this, she has developed computational models that allow us to extract key physical parameters from the multi-wavelength emission of galaxies. She also observes distant galaxies using some of the world’s largest telescopes, such as the Atacama Large Millimetre/Sub-millimetre Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). She has been recognized as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Clarivate in 2023.

University of Western Australia

The infrared-to-millimetre spectral range is rich with astrophysical signatures, from the cold, dense gas clouds from which stars form, to features of molecules essential for life, to dusty galaxies in the early Universe. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the observatories and techniques used to survey the Universe at infrared to millimetre wavelengths, with special emphasis on the Atacama Large Millimetre/Sub-millimetre Array (ALMA), the largest, most ambitious ground-based observatory built to date. I will describe some of the key scientific discoveries enabled by ALMA in the last ten years, including unveiling the hidden star formation in the first billion years of the Universe, revealing the formation of planetary systems, and the first direct images of the most mysterious objects in the Universe: black holes.

Axel Zeitler FRSC is the Professor of Microstructure Engineering at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, where he has led the Terahertz Applications Group since 2010. Before this, Professor Zeitler completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Würzburg, Germany, and his PhD with Professor Thomas Rades at the School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, New Zealand, co-supervised by Professor Sir Michael Pepper at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge and in collaboration with TeraView Ltd. Professor Zeitler’s research aims to further the understanding and development of terahertz spectroscopy and translate its applications to different scientific and industrial sectors.

Cambridge University

The quest to accelerate drug development and improve manufacturing quality demands cutting-edge technologies that offer fast, noninvasive and highly sensitive analysis. Terahertz spectroscopy and imaging have emerged as revolutionary tools in this field, providing unique insights and sensitivity that established methods such as near-infrared or Raman spectroscopy currently lack. This presentation delves into the transformative power of terahertz technology in the pharmaceutical industry, illustrating its impact on both the development and manufacturing stages of drug production.

 Terahertz spectroscopy utilises the far-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and readily penetrates through most polymeric and ceramic materials. Therefore, it is an exciting new tool to study such materials, which are often opaque at visible frequencies and which are common filler materials for pharmaceutical tablets. In addition to being a non-destructive probe of materials, in organic molecular crystals, terahertz radiation interacts with vibrational modes that extend across large domains of a crystal lattice. Terahertz technology excels in characterising drug polymorphic forms, assessing crystallinity, and ensuring the integrity of complex formulations. By offering detailed structural and compositional information, terahertz spectroscopy aids in optimising drug efficacy and safety from the early stages of development.

Complementing spectroscopy, terahertz imaging provides spatially resolved data, allowing for visualising the internal structure of pharmaceutical tablets and other solid dosage forms. This capability is crucial for detecting inhomogeneities, coating uniformity and potential defects, thereby ensuring quality control in manufacturing processes. The non-invasive nature of terahertz imaging makes it an ideal tool for real-time monitoring and quality assurance, reducing the need for slow destructive sampling, enabling continuous production monitoring and allowing for considerable savings in lost production batches.

The presentation will highlight case studies showcasing the successful integration of terahertz technology in various pharmaceutical applications. These examples will underscore how terahertz spectroscopy and imaging can streamline the development pipeline, enhance the robustness of manufacturing processes, and ultimately accelerate the production of safer and more effective medicines.

 

By bridging the gap between innovative research and practical application, terahertz technology helps ensure the continuous supply of high-quality medicines.

 

Jérôme Faist obtained his Diploma (1985) and Ph.D. in Physics (1989) from EPFL Lausanne with professor Franz-Karl Reinhart, working on vertical cavity surface emitting lasers and phase modulators. He then worked at IBM Rueschlikon (89-91) and Bell Laboratories (91-97). It is during that time that he made the first key contributions to the invention and further development of the quantum cascade laser (QCL). He was then nominated full professor in the physics institute of the University of Neuchâtel (1997)where  his research on QCL enabled to demonstrate the first room temperature, continuous wave operation of a QCL as well as important milestones in the development of THz QCL.
Continuing his research as an ordinary professor in the ETH Zurich (2007), his interests broadened to circuit-based THz lasers, group IV Ge/Si emitters and lasers, as well as QCL optical frequency combs, which his group demonstrated first in 2012. In the recent years, he became interested in the probing and engineering of electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations in metamaterials to achieve ultra-strong light-matter coupling with the goal of modifying the ground state of electronic states of two-dimensional electron gas. His key contribution to the development of the quantum cascade laser was recognized by a number of awards that include the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland prize (1994), the IEEE/LEOAS William Streifer award(1998), the Rank Prize for Electronics (1998), the National Swiss Latsis Prize 2002, the IEEE medal for the Environment (2018) as well as the Julius Springer award for applied physics (2019). He is the recipient of an advanced ERC grant in 2013. He is a fellow of IEEE and of the Optical Society of America and foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering (Washington).

Kenneth J Button Prize Winner 2024

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

While, in solid-state matter, the use of external parameters such as temperature, electric or magnetic fields to tune the properties of matter is common, only recently has the question been raised to which extend such tuning could be achieved using vacuum fluctuations. The terahertz frequency range is especially suitable portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to pursue this research endeavor. Indeed, not only do many solid-state excitations possess strong dipoles in the THz range, but split-ring resonator cavities are able to very strongly locally enhance vacuum fluctuations.
We demonstrated that such fluctuations can violate the topological protection of the integer quantum Hall effect [1] and are investigating its effects on electron-electron scattering [2]. We also demonstrated that the statistical properties of these fluctuations can be investigated using a two-beam field correlation experiment3,4, shedding a new light to one aspect of the Fermi two-atom problem: the relative strength of the vacuum field fluctuation and radiation reaction [5,6].

1. Appugliese, F. et al. Breakdown of topological protection by cavity vacuum fields in the integer quantum Hall effect. Science 375, 1030–1034 (2022).
2. Enkner, J. et al. Enhanced fractional quantum Hall gaps in a two-dimensional electron gas coupled to a hovering split-ring resonator. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.18362 (2024).
3. Settembrini, F. F., Lindel, F., Herter, A. M., Buhmann, S. Y. & Faist, J. Detection of quantum-vacuum field correlations outside the light cone. Nat. Commun. 13, 3383 (2022).
4. Benea-Chelmus, I.-C., Settembrini, F. F., Scalari, G. & Faist, J. Electric field correlation measurements on the electromagnetic vacuum state. Nature 568, 202–206 (2019).
5. Lindel, F., Herter, A., Faist, J. & Buhmann, S. Y. How to Separately Probe Vacuum Field Fluctuations and Source Radiation in Space and Time. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2305.06387 (2023).
6. Dalibard, J., Dupont-Roc, J. & Cohen-Tannoudji, C. Vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction : identification of their respective contributions. J. Phys. 43, 1617–1638 (1982).

Jeffrey L Hesler (M’86–SM’19–F’22) is the President & Chief Technology Officer of Virginia Diodes and an IEEE Fellow. For more than 30 years he has been working on creating new technologies that utilize the Terahertz frequency band for scientific, defense, and industrial applications. He has published over 200 technical papers in journals and international conferences proceedings, is a member of the IEEE Technical Committee MTT-21 (Terahertz Technology and Applications) and is a co-Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology. Terahertz systems based on his innovative designs are now used in hundreds of research laboratories throughout the world.

Virginia Diodes

The past 5 years have seen a dramatic expansion of interest in THz technology outside the traditional scientific community. As one example, there has been worldwide interest in so-called 6G communications, with links proposed by major telecom companies to 320 GHz and higher. This move from a field dominated by scientific applications to a more generally available technology is something that has been key to the path of Virginia Diodes (VDI) over the past 25 years. This talk will give examples of this evolution of THz technology as evidenced by projects at VDI.  First, the talk will discuss work on THz radiometers at frequencies ranging from 50 GHz to 2.5 THz for applications ranging from fusion plasma, planetary sciences and weather forecasting. This same basic THz technology has been applied to THz test and measurement, which is a key enabling technology to move the THz field forward and enable these commercial applications. Examples will include the generation and detection of wideband signals, vector network analyzers for device characterization, vector component analyzers for nonlinear device characterization, active load pull to 300 GHz, and noise measurement methods.

Iwao Hosako received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1993. After working at the ULSI Research Institute of NKK Corporation, he joined the Communications Research Laboratory (now NICT). After serving as Director General of the Advanced ICT Laboratory and Director General of the Wireless Network Research Center at the National Institute of Information and  Communications Technology (NICT), he has been Executive Director of the Beyond 5G R&D Promotion Unit since April 2021. He has been involved in the research and development of THz semiconductor devices, cameras, and wireless systems, the publication of Beyond 5G/6G white papers, and Beyond 5G/6G architecture studies. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the IEEE 802.15 SC-THz. He has been an active member of several prestigious  committees and organizations, including the Science Council of Japan and various IEICE working groups. His leadership extends to government advisory
roles, contributing to Japan’s Beyond 5G promotion strategy and spectrum management planning.

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

This talk will explore the groundbreaking field of terahertz (THz) wireless technology, highlighting its unique characteristics and potential to revolutionize communications systems.

First, we will explore the “fundamental properties of terahertz waves”, emphasizing their capabilities for ultra-high-speed data transmission and their significant role in next-generation wireless networks. These characteristics position THz technology as a cornerstone for future innovations in communications.

Next, we will examine the “current standardization efforts” surrounding THz technology. This includes the latest developments from leading global standards organizations that are critical to ensuring interoperability and widespread adoption of THz systems. Understanding these standards is critical for stakeholders who wish to contribute to and benefit from this advancing technology.

The discussion will then shift to the “implementation trajectory of THz technology in society”. We will review use cases that have been considered so far, providing insights into practical applications and challenges. Building on this, we will present “new and emerging use cases”, focusing on how THz technology can shape the future. Central to this vision is “Society 5.0”, an initiative that envisions a highly integrated and intelligent society, where THz technology plays a critical role in enabling ultra-high speed/capacity connectivity and advanced digital services.

We will also highlight the “significant contributions from the B5G (Beyond 5G) Fund”, showcasing key results and innovations spurred by this initiative. These contributions are instrumental in pushing the boundaries of THz research and applications.

Finally, the presentation will outline the “future direction for research and development” in THz technology. We will discuss potential breakthroughs, ongoing challenges, and strategic areas for investment and exploration. This forward-looking perspective is intended to inspire researchers, industry professionals, and policy makers to work together to advance THz technology.

In summary, this talk will provide a comprehensive overview of terahertz

Lyubov Titova is a Professor of Physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA, where she leads the Ultrafast Optical and Terahertz Spectroscopy Lab. Her research interests are at the intersection of photonics and advanced functional materials, applying ultrafast optical and terahertz spectroscopy to nanomaterials with applications in solar energy conversion, sensing and optoelectronics.

She earned her BS in Physics at the Precarpathian National University in Ukraine and Ph. D. in Physics from the University of Notre Dame, IN (USA) working with Prof. M. Dobrowolska. She went on to do a postdoc at the University of Cincinnati with Prof. L.M. Smith and Prof. H.E. Jackson, working on spatially- and time-resolved photoluminescence imaging of semiconductor nanowires. Later, she joined the group of Prof. F. A. Hegmann at the University of Alberta, Canada as an Avadh Bhatia Postdoctoral Fellow to work on time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy of semiconductors, and continued at the University of Alberta as a Research Associate in the Ultrafast Nanotools Lab. She moved to the Physics Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2014.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Two dimensional, or 2D materials, are stable ultrathin layers that can form stacks connected by weak van der Waals forces. Since the discovery of graphene, the 2D material family has added many new members such as elemental atomic ‘Xenes’ silicene and germanene, transition metal chalcogenides, oxides, halides, and phosphates, 2D transition metal nitrides or carbides known as MXenes, and many others. They display a wide range of optical and electronic properties, among them record charge carrier mobilities, band gaps that are tunable by changing the number of stacked layers, strong Coulomb interactions, or emergence of topological order. 2D materials thus attract considerable attention as a testbed for new physics and candidates for applications in flexible nanoscale high-speed optoelectronic devices. Terahertz spectroscopy provides unique access to those properties with ultra-high time resolution and without the complications of electrical contacts and allows unraveling how behavior of charge carriers and photoexcitations depends on morphology, the presence of defects, or guest species in the van der Waals gaps. On the other hand, 2D materials have much to offer to THz technology as elements of THz emitters, detectors, modulators, polarizers and other devices. This talk will discuss recent advances in THz spectroscopy of 2D materials.

 

Professor Jagadish is a Distinguished Professor and Head of Semiconductor Optoelectronics and Nanotechnology Group in the Research School of Physics, Australian National University.  He has received Australia’s highest civilian honor, AC, Companion of the Order of Australia, for his contributions to physics and engineering, in particular nanotechnology.  He has received 2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, highest award given to overseas Indians by the Government of India, from the President of India.  He is currently serving as the President of the Australian Academy of Science and in the past served as President of IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Nanotechnology Council and Australian Materials Research Society.

Australian National University

Semiconductors have played an important role in the development of information and communications technology, solar cells, solid state lighting.  Nanowires are considered as building blocks for the next generation electronics and optoelectronics.  In this talk, I will present the results on growth of nanowires, nanomembranes and microrings and their optical properties.  Then I will discuss theoretical design and experimental results on optoelectronic devices.  In particular I will discuss nanowire and micro-ring lasers and integration of nanowires and microrings.  I will also present the results on polarization sensitive, broad bandwidth THz detectors operating at room temperature.  Nanowire based energy devices such as solar cells and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting will be discussed.  I will discuss about Neuro-electrodes to study brain signaling to understand dementia.  Future prospects of the semiconductor nanostructures will be discussed.

John Jelonnek received the Dipl.-Ing. and Dr.-Ing. degrees in electrical engineering from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Germany, in 1991 and 2000, respectively. At TUHH he developed rigorous self-consistent analyses for gyrotron oscillators with particular focus on rigorous time-domain
simulation at mismatched conditions and injection locking. From 1997 to 2011, John Jelonnek was working in several different positions in industry. Since 2011, John Jelonnek heads the Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology (IHM) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. Related to microwave technology, the research of high-power microwave sources, with particular focus on megawatt-class gyrotrons, and the application of microwaves to energy efficient industrial processes using  dielectric heating and microwave plasmas are in the focus. John Jelonnek is a Professor for high-power microwave technology at KIT.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Energy is at the heart of the climate challenge – and key to the solution. It calls for the development of renewable and sustainable, non-carbon-dioxide emitting energy supplies. Nuclear fusion is seen as a possible long-term option. Recently, it has become a megatrend. Numerous start-ups around the globe are shifting the focus in research and development from plasma science to fusion technology. In parallel, in France, 35 nations collaborate together to
build ITER, the world’s largest tokamak experiment, a magnetic confinement fusion device. ITER will rely on all three major plasma heating systems, namely the negative Ion Neutral Beam Injection (NBI), the Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH) and the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH). Instead, the today’s concept of the European DEMOnstration
power plant (DEMO) relies completely on the capabilities of the ECRH as it allows for plasma heating and localized plasma stabilization. Gyrotrons are the microwave sources which provide the necessary continuous wave output power at megawatt-levels with sufficient efficiencies and at the required frequencies ranging from below 100 GHz to above 200 GHz. Significant
R&D effort is ongoing in Europe to develop gyrotrons for the European fusion plasma experiments and the future DEMOnstration fusion power plant. It is driven by the European GYrotron Consortium (EGYC), which consists of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) at EPFL, Switzerland, the Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece, and the National Research Council in Italy (ISTP-CNR). IPP Greifswald, Germany is collaborating in the improvement of gyrotrons for the stellarator W7-X. Polytechnic of Turin (PoliTO) and the Polytechnic of Milan (PoliMI) are contributing to the R&D on cooling circuits and cathode temperature control systems, respectively. Finally, the industrial design and manufacturing are performed by the European industrial partner THALES, France.
This presentation focuses on the advances in gyrotron research and development in Europe.
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Parts of this work have been carried out within the frameworkof the EUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme (Grant Agreement No 101052200 — EUROfusion). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Xiaojun Wu received her PhD degree in the Institute of Physics, CAS in 2013.
She joined in Beihang University in the May of 2017 after she completed her
Humboldt Fellowship in Prof. Dr. Franz X. Kaertner’s group at DESY in Germany. Her research interests are generating high-energy strong-field THz radiation and its applications. She was awarded the first Zhenyi Wang Award by International Society of Infrared, Millimeter, and THz Waves (IRMMW-THz), the first Women in Ultrafast Science Global Award, the first prize of the first China Science and Technology Youth Forum. She is now the Deputy Director of the International Relations Department and Vice Dean of the International School of Beihang University, a Professor at the School of Electronic and Information Engineering, the director of the International Terahertz Research Center of Beihang University and Optica Fellow.

 

Beihang University

Free-space strong-field terahertz (THz) electromagnetic pulses offers unique
high-frequency electric field and pulsed magnetic forces and multifaceted
spectroscopic capabilities for accelerating particles, driving non-equilibrium
quantum states, understanding the mesoscale low-energy vibrations of
macromolecules in (bio)materials. However, the key obstacle to these
applications lies in the lack of high efficiency, high beam quality, and high
stability radiation sources. Lithium niobate materials have the advantages of
high nonlinear coefficient, large crystal size, high damage threshold, and are one of the best candidates for generating strong-field THz radiation. However, using the existing ultra-strong ultra-short Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser pulses to pump lithium niobate crystals and efficiently generate strong-field THz radiation, there are at least three major problems and challenges need to be overcome: phase mismatching caused by refractive index difference, low
efficiency caused by intrinsic short pulses under Ti:sapphire laser pumping, and nonlinear effects caused by high pump intensity. In this talk I will review the efforts made in the development of lithium niobate-THz sources over the past ten years, introduce the latest progress of the extreme THz source with a 45mJ single-pulse energy obtained based on the SULF laser facility, and discuss the problems encountered in high-repetition-rate and high-power femtosecond laser pumping.