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The exponential factor in Equation (1) of the paper published in Materials [1] reports a misprint and the correct expression of the transmission function is These changes have no material impact on the conclusions of the paper. The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to the readers by these changes. Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The catalytic and electro-optical properties of TiO2-based materials depend on the defectivity of their electronic structures and in turn on the synthesis conditions. It is however less clear how t...

Free-Electron Lasers are a rapidly growing field for advanced science and applications, and worldwide facilities for intense field generation, characterization and usage are becoming increasingly popular due to their peculiarities, including extremely bright, coherent, wide band tunable ultra-short pulses which are not achievable with other techniques up to now. In this review we give a thorough survey of the latest advances in the Free-Electron Laser-based field generation and detection methodologies and then present the main characteristics of a future THz/IR source, named TerRa@BriXSinO, based on a superconducting linear accelerator. The foreseen source is strongly monochromatic, with a bandwidth of 1% or smaller, highly coherent both transversally and longitudinally, with extreme versatility and high frequency tunability. After introducing the most recent and novel FEL-assisted scientific investigations, including fundamental explorations into complex systems and time-dependent interactions and material dynamics, we present our vision on the potential use of the TerRa facility and analyze some possible applications, ranging from non-linear physics under extreme conditions to polarization sensitive imaging and metamaterial-based sensing.

We present the design study of an innovative scheme to generate high repetition rate (multi-MHz-class) THz radiation pulses by using an Energy Recovered Super Conducting Linac operating in Continuous Wave mode driving a Free-Electron Laser Oscillator. The FEL performance is illustrated for one and two color operation. Start-to-end simulations are presented to assess the capability of this scheme for typical values of wavelengths of interest in the 10–50μm (6–30 THz) range.

A novel, to the best of our knowledge, methodology based on the combination of experimental measurements and simulations of the wave transmission through a metasurface at different angles is presented, enabling us to identify the fundamental and first high-order mode of spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) excited in the terahertz regime. The approach offers a new way, an alternative to standard near field imaging, to trace out the presence of SSPPs on a metal-dielectric interface.

We report on fs laser structuring and graphitization of diamond and experimental characterization of its THz response. A full characterization of graphitized, conductive layer generated by laser irradiation is carried out by performing scanning-electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and electrical measurements. The transmittance of the laser textured diamond samples, both with the graphitic overlayer and after selective oxidizing etching, is analyzed in the (0.25 ÷ 6.0) THz spectral range. A significant selective absorption of the graphitized overlayer towards polarized THz radiation is demonstrated, which is associated to the formation of graphitic laser induced periodic surface structures. This anisotropy allows conceiving compact passive metasurfaces based on conductive/dielectric patterns on the diamond plate surface for the development of robust, lightweight and broadband THz optical components.

The electromagnetic characterisation of different materials for the inner wall coating of beam pipes is a long-standing problem in accelerator physics, regardless the purpose they are used for, since their presence may affect in an unpredictable way the beam coupling impedance and therefore the machine performance. Moreover, in particle accelerators and storage rings of new generation very short bunches might be required, extending far in frequency the exploration of the beam spectrum and rendering therefore more and more important to assess the coating material response up to hundreds of GHz. This paper describes a time domain method based on THz waveguide spectroscopy to infer the coating properties at very high frequencies. The technique has been tested on Non Evaporable Getter thick films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on copper plates.

Hydrogen production by photocatalytic water splitting is one of the most promising sustainable routes to store solar energy in the form of chemical bonds. To obtain significant H2 evolution rates (HERs) a variety of defective TiO2 catalysts were synthesized by means of procedures generally requiring highly energy-consuming treatments, e.g. hydrogenation. Even if a complete understanding of the relationship between defects, electronic structure and catalytic active sites is far from being achieved, the band gap narrowing and Ti3+-self-doping have been considered essential to date. In most reports a metal co-catalyst (commonly Pt) and a sacrificial electron donor (such as methanol) are used to improve HERs. Here we report the synthesis of TiO2/C bulk heterostructures, obtained from a hybrid TiO2-based gel by simple heat treatments at 400 °C under different atmospheres. The electronic structure and properties of the grey or black gel-derived powders are deeply inspected by a combination of classical and less conventional techniques, in order to identify the origin of their photoresponsivity. The defective sites of these heterostructures, namely oxygen vacancies, graphitic carbon and unpaired electrons localized on the C matrix, result in a remarkable visible light activity in spite of the lack of band gap narrowing or Ti3+-self doping. The materials provide HER values ranging from about 0.15 to 0.40 mmol h−1 gcat−1, under both UV- and visible-light irradiation, employing glycerol as sacrificial agent and without any co-catalyst.

The electromagnetic characterization of coating materials is fundamental to build a reliable impedance model of any accelerator. In particular, since the CLIC (Compact LInear Collider) necessitates bunches with short longitudinal length, a full electromagnetic characterization of the coating material surface impedance is needed at high frequencies in the millimetric wave length and beyond. The goal of this paper is to develop a measurement method to characterize the coating materials in the sub-THz frequency range. The electromagnetic characterization of the material is performed using a time domain coherent THz spectrometer. The method is based on the attenuation measurement of the signal passing through a waveguide specifically designed, having a very thin central layer where the coating material is deposited on both sides. The guide is equipped with two "horn" antennas integrated on both sides of the device to enhance the electromagnetic signal collection. This novel technique is tested on slabs coated with a Non-Evaporable Getter (NEG) and allows evaluating the surface impedance in the frequency range from 0.1 to 0.3 THz., CERN Yellow Reports: Conference Proceedings, Vol. 7 (2020): ECLOUD’18 : Proceedings of the Joint INFN-CERN-ARIES Workshop on Electron-Cloud Effects, 3–7 June 2018, La Biodola, Isola d’Elba, Italy

Coding metasurfaces, composed of only two types of elements arranged according to a binary code, are attracting a steadily increasing interest in many application scenarios. In this study, we apply this concept to attain diffuse scattering at THz frequencies. Building up on previously derived theoretical results, we carry out a suboptimal metasurface design based on a simple, deterministic and computationally inexpensive algorithm that can be applied to arbitrarily large structures. For experimental validation, we fabricate and characterize three prototypes working at 1 THz, which, in accordance with numerical predictions, exhibit significant reductions of the radar cross-section, with reasonably good frequency and angular stability. Besides the radar-signature control, our results may also find potentially interesting applications to diffusive imaging, computational imaging, and (scaled to optical wavelengths) photovoltaics.

The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding mechanisms of graphene/PMMA multilayered structures are experimentally investigated by using time domain spectroscopy (TDS) in the THz range. Stacked plates of similar thickness (~ 5μm), starting from a single layer up to 100 layers, were produced by a novel approach combining ultra-thin polymer casting and wet deposition techniques. These nano laminates show enhanced electrical conductivity (~100 S/cm) and superior specific shielding effectiveness (~2.104 dB cm2 g-1).

We study the sensitivity of two different metagrids to the presence of biological fluids on the surface. When a THz beam impinges on each metagrid capped with a dielectric substrate, peaks in transmission related to the onset of high order surface plasmon polaritons appear and allow to estimate the properties of a guest fluid filling the partition volume with a very high sensitivity, comparable with record literature values.

We describe an experimental strategy for the use of Terahertz (THz) metasurfaces as a platform for label-free wide range detection of the dielectric function in biological fluids. Specifically, we propose a metagrid (MG), opportunely infiltrated with a fluid and then capped, as the reference structure for sensing experiments with a high reproducibility character. By combining experiments and full-wave simulations of the transmission T of such a structure, we introduce a reliable set up where the volume of the involved analyte in each unit cell is precisely determined. The unavoidable decrease in the quality factor of the intrinsic resonances due to the lossy fluid and cap layer is circumvented using an appropriate transformation of T that amplifies the change in the MG intrinsic resonances, improving in such a way the sensor sensitivity to values close to the experimental limits. The transformed signal features delta-like peaks enabling an easy readout of frequency positions at resonances.

The transmission response of metallo-dielectric grid metasurfaces is experimentally investigated through Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy and the corresponding effective dielectric function is retrieved. Using a lumped element model we can determine the dependence of the effective plasma frequency (the transition frequency) on the metasurface filling factor F. The change of the transition frequency vs. F spans over one order of magnitude and sets the threshold between the metamaterial (homogeneous) and the photonic crystal (diffraction-like) regime, ruling the onset of two different Surface Plasmon Polaritons, spoof and high order. Field symmetry and spatial extension of such excitations are investigated for the possible applications of THz grid metasurfaces in bio- and chemical sensing and sub-wavelength imaging.

Resistive-wall impedance constitutes a significant percentage of the total beam-coupling impedance budget of an accelerator. Under extreme conditions, like large power handling and ultrahigh vacuum, metamaterial-based absorbers can represent a valid alternative to other approaches for impedance mitigation in specific accelerator components, like resonant (parasitic) cavities or collimators operating along the beam line. We design sub-wavelength 2D metallic resonant structures based on split rings or on 3D hyperbolic tapered waveguide arrays that can be employed as mode dampers in accelerating structures. A number of prototypes are fabricated and then measured in a "test model" pillbox cavity.

In high vacuum flat solar thermal panels, the main losses are the optical and radiative losses of the selective solar absorber. The optical properties of commercial selective solar absorbers are usually measured by reflectivity measurements from 350nm up to 20μm at room temperature. The spectrally averaged absorptivity and emissivity are estimated and their values are used to calculate the panel performance at high temperature. To measure the actual absorptance and emittance at operating temperature and up to stagnation temperature (as high as 400°C), we have developed a calorimetric instrument based on a power balance equation. We compare the results obtained by our instrument based on a calorimetric method with the value from the optical data. The results are in excellent agreement in the infrared region whereas the calorimetric method measures a spectrally averaged absorptivity 0.85, lower than the spectrally averaged absorptivity measured by optical method by about the 10%. An optical energy loss mechanism could be responsible for the observed discrepancy: further investigations are in progress to clarify the origin of the discrepancy.

This paper describes a reliable, handy, and inexpensive measurement system to characterize, in the sub-THz frequency range, the coating materials used in the beam pipes of accelerators. The method is based on time domain measurements of an electromagnetic wave passing through a waveguide having a thin central slab, where the coating material is deposited on both sides. Two horn antennas are integrated on both sides of the device to optimize the signal collection and detection. This novel technique is tested on slabs coated with a nonevaporable getter (NEG) and allows to evaluate the surface impedance in the frequency range from 0.1 to 0.3 THz.

The use of graphene in a form of discontinuous flakes in polymer composites limits the full exploitation of the unique properties of graphene, thus requiring high filler loadings for achieving - for example - satisfactory electrical and mechanical properties. Herein centimetre-scale CVD graphene/polymer nanolaminates have been produced by using an iterative 'lift-off/float-on' process and have been found to outperform, for the same graphene content, state-of-the-art flake-based graphene polymer composites in terms of mechanical reinforcement and electrical properties. Most importantly these thin laminate materials show a high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness, reaching 60 dB for a small thickness of 33 micron, and an absolute EMI shielding effectiveness close to 3* 10 ^5 dB cm ^2 g^-1 which is amongst the highest values for synthetic, non-metallic materials produced to date., Comment: Article and Supplementary Material

The exponential factor in Equation (1) of the paper published in Materials [1] reports a misprintand the correct expression of the transmission function is [...]., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.