We propose the acquisition of a Vector Network Analyzer, to be installed in a dedicated room of the Physics department of the Sapienza University. The equipment is complemented by high frequency heads and feed-horns for tests at millimeter wavelengths, for frequencies up to 500 GHz. It will serve a wide variety of research lines (some already active among the proposers) very significantly enhancing their measurement capabilities and their position in the international context. These projects include the development and characterisation of mm/sub-mm wave quasi-optical (QO) components and metamaterials; the measurement of optical beams, optical systematics and Wood¿s anomalies; the development and characterisation of waveguide devices and systems; sub-THz spectroscopy for materials applications; test of microwave components for scientific and communication space applications; development of custom components for axion detection in light shining thru wall experiments; optimization of custom components for Gravitational Waves measurements through electromagnetic conversion, and several more. The equipment will be maintained and managed by a team of scientists and will be made available to the scientific community in Sapienza. In addition, the instrument will be available, for a fee and still operated by the same team, to carry out externally requested measurements. In fact we can forecast a sizable interest of the high-tech companies in the Rome area, due to the growing industrial use of high frequency microwaves and the lack of similar instrumentation in the region.
INNOVATIVENESS OF THE EQUIPMENT
The instrument we have selected is a state of the art device, able to perform a huge number of different measurement tasks. Moreover, we plan to use the device in a number of different innovative research lines, which are detailed in the following sections. There are many research groups owning VNAs and related equipment. However, most of the time these instruments are dedicated to specific kinds of tests and they also operate over narrow frequency ranges. Our testing facility would allow large flexibility both in terms of type of measurements as well as frequency range, which is very wide (75-500 GHz). This kind of equipment is not available in the Rome area and in particular in the Sapienza environment.
TESTING FACILITY FLEXIBILITY
We plan to perform a large variety of measurements: QO transmission and reflection measurements, optical beams/antennas characterisation, optical systematics and Wood¿s anomalies measurements, waveguide systems characterisation. In addition, members of our team have a lot of experience in cryogenic systems and have already developed low-loss low-heat-conductivity waveguides, to transfer the microwave signals down to a cryogenic testbed already available in our laboratory. This allows us to extend significantly the range of components to be developed, tested and qualified with our VNA.
ATTRACTIVENESS IN TERMS OF COLLABORATIONS
The acquisition of the facility would trigger additional collaborations in our fields, due to the possibility to characterise different devices in different ways and across such a large frequency range. It would also open up opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers working in other fields such as telecommunication and security, where very similar devices/characterisations are used/required for their systems. Moreover, it is well known that the future of telecommunication systems relies on the use of millimetre-waves: we envision a close collaboration between us, mm-wave expert scientists, and the communication industry for the exploitation of these new bands. In the Rome area there are several communication industries which could benefit from the availability of this new facility in the area and from our expertise; on the other hand, fees for the use of the facility would allow proper maintenance of the equipment.
We plan to use the facility to support different lines of research, as detailed in the following section. The listed activities are not meant to support the various groups in isolation. They rather represent a plan and an opportunity to collaborate in an interdisciplinary interfaculty fashion, in a synergy between the Physics, DIMA and DIET departments.