Launched this autumn, the HERMES project will create a data exchange unit that will revolutionise short-range data transfer by enabling speeds of 100 gigabits per second with minimal energy consumption or production costs.
The graphene-based communication unit will use a carrier frequency of a few terahertz (THz) and a single graphene-based field-effect transistor operating as a transceiver: a device that can both generate radiation and receive it.
“Imagine the following episode in your future everyday life: you are in a supermarket, paying for goods with your smartphone. At the same time, you are downloading a movie or even a series onto your phone, and this download is not slowed down by the payment transaction, thanks to the contact between your smart phone and the cash terminal being instantaneous,” says Senior Researcher Georgy Fedorov of the Department of Physics and Mathematics, one of the Principal Investigators of the HERMES project.
As THz radiation is strongly attenuated in ambient air, the data exchange line created by the HERMES transceiver works over short distances – up to 10 to 20 cm. On one hand, this limits its applications and on the other hand makes it 100 per cent safe and protected.
“There are plenty of everyday life situations when transferring large amounts of data from one device to another in next to no time makes things more convenient, if nothing else. Like transferring photos after a trip form your phone to your computer or TV. Or from one laptop to another, and so on,” says Fedorov.
While semiconductor-based devices use single particle excitations to generate and detect light, the new graphene-based transceiver will use plasmons – collective excitations of charge carriers – for the same purpose. The collective nature of these excitations allows for room temperature operation in THz range in which the photons have energy smaller than the room temperature.
While the idea might seem simple, its practical realisation will require the combined effort of an interdisciplinary consortium involving academic institutions and SMEs from six different countries. Within the four-year HERMES project, they will develop and commercialise the transceiver configuration, the electronics needed to couple it with the fast internal data exchange lines, and the integration of the technology.
UEF hosted a kick-off meeting of the HERMES project on 1st of November. The principal investigators of the HERMES consortium member organisations have worked out a detailed plan of activities for the first period of project implementation. Reciprocal visits between the member institutions play an important role in this project, which is funded under the Maria Curie staff exchange programme. This allows young researchers to get involved in research activities in different areas and gain experience from collaborations with senior researchers throughout the consortium.
For further information, please contact:
Senior Researcher Georgy Fedorov, Department of Physics and Mathematics, [email protected], tel. 050 441 9245
EU CORDIS website
