An essential measurement instrument for R&D activities in the frequency range from 10 GHz – 750 GHz of the electromagnetic spectrum, a subdision of the loosely defined THz spectrum, is the so-called vector network analyzer (VNA), which allows to characterize devices and materials by measuring vector-based reflection and transmission coefficient of waves incident on the structure under test. In this project two new state-of-the-art VNAs, a table top and a portable version, each of them offering orders of magnitude progress in performance with respect to the actual 12-year old VNA available @ ETRO-VUB. The equipment will be directly contribute to the scientific progress in a multitude of disciplines: i) THz technology domain: novel device platform based on graphene devices, advanced sensor configurations, powerful algorithms for the extraction of material properties ii) in textile reinforced composite material engineering, iii) in the domain of microfluidic systems: porosity engineering and pharmaceutical separation techniques iv) in fundamental material sciences, related to phase transitions and crystallization of (bio)materials, the different states and behavior of water in these materials, but also to v) novel insights in DNA-protein interaction mechanisms as well as the fundamental interaction mechanisms of (sub-)THz waves with cellular organisms. It will leverage the position of VUB as a center of excellence in THz science in multidisciplinary domains.

Runtime: 2018 - 2023