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Military Sets New Record for

World's Fastest Microchip


by Tanya Lewis, Staff Writer | October 29, 2014 02:17pm ET

ARLINGTON, Va. A new Guinness World Record has been set for the fastest microchip ever made,
officials announced Tuesday (Oct. 28).

The new chip, or integrated circuit, is a type of "amplifier" for signals, and operates at 1 trillion cycles per
second, or 1 terahertz. That's 150 billion cycles faster than the team's previous record of 850 gigahertz, set
in 2012, according to officials from Northrop Grumman Corp., who built the device with funding from
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"Today, we get to celebrate, with our partner and our performer Northrup Grumman, an exciting record
from Guinness for some work that [has been] done," DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar said at a news
conference here at the agency's headquarters yesterday. "We're opening up the terahertz regime."
[Humanoid Robots to Flying Cars: 10 Coolest DARPA Projects]

The applications of terahertz processing include communication networks with much greater capacity,
high-resolution imaging systems and spectrometers that could detect toxic chemicals or explosives,
DARPA officials said.

The speedy device functions to amplify a signal's power, which is necessary for generating and detecting
high-frequency signals. The amount of amplification, or gain, of the new chip was 9 decibels at 1.0
terahertz and 8 decibels at 1.03 terahertz, DARPA representatives said. (A decibel is a logarithmic unit
used to express the ratio between two values in this case, power.) For comparison, the chips found in
standard cellphones operate at only about 2 gigahertz.

If the new integrated circuit were a car, it would be traveling at more than 32,000 mph (51,500 km/h),
said Bill Deal, a program manager at Northrop Grumman. And it's only about the size of a grain of salt.

Potential applications include aircraft imaging systems that would allow planes see through fog or smoke,
Deal said. These devices could penetrate the haze because they operate in a part of the electromagnetic
spectrum between microwaves and visible light.

In medicine, terahertz technology could be used for high-resolution imaging of burns. Medical treatment
differs depending on the severity of the burn, and such a system could differentiate between second- and
third-degree burns, Deal said.
But making a chip that fast was no easy feat. Microchips are made of tiny switches called transistors,
which had to be made with great precision.

"If you've ever tuned a guitar, you know that to make the string hit a really high note, it has to be shorter,
lighter and tighter," Dev Palmer, the DARPA program manager for the terahertz project, said at the news
conference. "Making terahertz transistors is actually a lot like that."

At low frequencies, the transistors can be pretty big and don't have to be manufactured very precisely, but
at higher frequencies, closer to the terahertz range, the transistors get smaller and have less tolerance for
error, he said.

The project consisted of three phases. First, the team worked to create a 670 Hz chip, which was
considered "an extremely stretch goal" at the time, Palmer said. But once the team achieved that, in phase
two, they set out to make an 850 Hz chip. Finally, in the third phase, they reached 1 terahertz. The entire
project took less than five years, Palmer said.

NASA's Radiometer Atmospheric CubeSat Experiment (RACE) was built to use terahertz technology to
measure water in the atmosphere, and was set launch to the International Space Station last night on an
Orbital Sciences launch. But the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff, destroying all cargo and experiments
aboard. NASA has not yet stated if and when a replacement experiment will be deployed.
ME: In medicine, terahertz technology could be used for high-

resolution imaging of burns. Medical treatment differs


Military sets new record for worlds fastest microchip depending on the severity of the burn, and such a system

could differentiate between second- and third-degree burns,


The new chip, or integrated circuit, is a type of "amplifier" for
Deal said.
signals, and operates at 1 trillion cycles per second, or 1

terahertz, according to officials from Northrop Grumman But making a chip that fast was no easy feat. Microchips are
Corp., who built the device with funding from the Defense made of tiny switches called transistors, which had to be
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). made with great precision.

The applications of terahertz processing include At low frequencies, the transistors can be pretty big and
communication networks with much greater capacity, high- don't have to be manufactured very precisely, but at higher
resolution imaging systems and spectrometers that could frequencies, closer to the terahertz range, the transistors get
detect toxic chemicals or explosives, DARPA officials said. smaller and have less tolerance for error.

The speedy device functions to amplify a signal's power, The project consisted of three phases. First, the team
which is necessary for generating and detecting high- worked to create a 670 Hz chip, which was considered "an
frequency signals. The amount of amplification, or gain, of extremely stretch goal" at the time, Palmer said. But once
the new chip was 9 decibels at 1.0 terahertz and 8 decibels the team achieved that, in phase two, they set out to make
at 1.03 terahertz, DARPA representatives said. (A decibel is an 850 Hz chip. Finally, in the third phase, they reached 1
a logarithmic unit used to express the ratio between two terahertz. The entire project took less than five years,
values in this case, power.) For comparison, the chips Palmer said.
found in standard cellphones operate at only about 2

gigahertz. NASA's Radiometer Atmospheric CubeSat Experiment

(RACE) was built to use terahertz technology to measure


If the new integrated circuit were a car, it would be traveling water in the atmosphere, and was set launch to the
at more than 32,000 mph (51,500 km/h), said Bill Deal, a International Space Station last October 28, 2014 on an
program manager at Northrop Grumman. And it's only about Orbital Sciences launch. But the rocket exploded shortly
the size of a grain of salt. after liftoff, destroying all cargo and experiments aboard.

NASA has not yet stated if and when a replacement


Potential applications include aircraft imaging systems that
experiment will be deployed.
would allow planes see through fog or smoke, Deal said.

These devices could penetrate the haze because they

operate in a part of the electromagnetic spectrum between

microwaves and visible light.


A private Orbital Sciences-built cargo launch to the International Space Station ended in
a fiery explosion just second after liftoff Tuesday night (Oct. 28).

Orbital's unmanned Antares rocket exploded in a brilliant fireball shortly after launching
from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT), crashing
back down to the launch pad in a flaming heap. The Antares was carrying Orbital's
unmanned Cygnus spacecraft, which was toting 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) of
food, scientific experiments and other supplies on this flight the third cargo mission to
the space station under a $1.9 billion contract the company holds with NASA. You
cansee photos of the Antares rocket explosion here.

A NASA spokesman described the explosion as a "catastrophic anomaly" during a


NASA TV webcast. While the assessment and investigation of the accident have just
begun, NASA emergency operations officials report no injuries, Orbital Sciences
representatives said. Property damage is limited to the south end of Wallops Island,
they added.

Terahertz radiation falls in between infrared radiation and microwave radiation in the electromagnetic
spectrum, and it shares some properties with each of these. Like infrared and microwave radiation,
terahertz radiation travels in a line of sight and is non-ionizing. Like microwave radiation, terahertz
radiation can penetrate a wide variety of non-conducting materials. Terahertz radiation can pass
through clothing, paper, cardboard, wood, masonry, plastic and ceramics. The penetration depth is
typically less than that of microwave radiation. Terahertz radiation has limited penetration
through fog and clouds and cannot penetrate liquid water or metal.[2]

The earth's atmosphere is a strong absorber of terahertz radiation in specific water vapor absorption
bands, so the range of terahertz radiation is limited enough to affect its usefulness in long-distance
communications. However, at distances of ~10 meters the band may still allow many useful
applications in imaging and construction of high bandwidthwireless networking systems, especially
indoor systems. In addition, producing and detecting coherent terahertz radiation remains technically
challenging, though inexpensive commercial sources now exist in the 0.31.0 THz range (the lower
part of the spectrum), including gyrotrons, backward wave oscillators, and resonant-tunneling
diodes.

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