Researchers at the University of California Irvine have developed a powerful super-smart processing technology that can be used in multiple operations, such as imaging, scanning, and wireless communication.

The technology developed by the integrated circuit researchers at UC Irvine is a silicon microchip-based radiator that emits powerful millimeter-wave signals up to 300 gigahertz. These waves are very powerful that they are able to penetrate through solid surfaces and produce images with absolutely sharp resolution.

Such powerful technology means your doctor can get high-resolution images of your internal organs and tissues by simply scanning your body without opening you up. Aside from producing high-resolution images, the device also has the capability to send big chunks of data to a remote server and immediately receive information about the diagnosis.

Aside from being a powerful piece of technology, the researchers also said that the new radiator is more power efficient emitting the lowest noise possible compared to other existing radiators with the same functions.

The octagonal-shaped microchip is equipped with a unique cavity structure which emits radiation in a circularly polarized manner. This solves the problem of existing linearly polarized signals because the circular emission does not lose its signal. Most existing linear signals are suffering from this due to misalignment of antennas and receivers.

Payam Heydari, the lead researcher of the project and a professor of electrical & computer engineering at UCI, said that the device has three crucial functions - combine all the power coming from multiple amplifiers, modulate the signal to a desired frequency setting, and radiate that signal out into waves that can sense, see, and communicate.

Heydari said that this technology will hugely benefit the biomedical sector because doctors will be able to precisely tell the difference between tumor masses and healthy tissues. However, its use is not only limited to this field but also in genomic research which can be effectively used to excite proteins.

Heydari will be presenting their research at the IEEE International and Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco.