A nanoscale device to generate high-power Terahertz waves

Researchers at EPFL have developed a nanodevice, described today in Nature, that operates more than 10 times faster than today's fastest transistors. It enables the generation of high-power terahertz waves. These waves, which are notoriously difficult to produce, are useful in a rich variety of applications ranging from imaging and sensing to high-speed wireless communications. The high-power picosecond operation of these device also hold immense promise to some advanced medical treatment techniques such as cancer therapy.