The Terahertz Frontier with Greg Charvat of Teradar
Welcome Greg Charvat, CTO and Co-founder of Teradar This episode was sponsored by Siemens, which is offering a 30 day trial to Xpedition for listeners of The Amp Hour. Listen to the 31 minute mark of this episode to hear the full spot, including insight from past guest of the show Shrouk El-Attar (episode 549) Chris welcomes Greg Charvat back for his record-breaking 5th appearance on the show to discuss his latest “pirate ship” venture, Teradar, and the quest for the last frontier of sensing. Reflecting on the 2018 pivot: Greg discusses how his previous work at Butterfly Network (ultrasound), Hyperfine (portable MRI), and Humatics (microlocation) centered on the “hard tech” philosophy of moving everything to silicon to lower costs and increase resolution. The “Moat” strategy: While patents are just paper, Greg argues the true defense for a startup is the 5+ years of “school of hard knocks” engineering required to perfect a sensor-on-a-chip that big companies cannot easily copy. Defining the “Last Frontier”: Terahertz (THz) sensing operates in the hundreds of gigahertz—sitting between millimeter-wave radar and visible light (LIDAR)—offering the resolution of the former with the weather-penetrating “superpower” of the latter. Overcoming “Blobbology”: Greg traces the historical march toward higher frequencies, from the 26 MHz Chain Home systems of WWII to 10 GHz imaging, explaining why Terahertz is the logical progression for high-resolution automotive sensing. The “Uncompromising” Phased Array: Unlike LIDAR which often relies on moving parts like spinning mirrors, Teradar employs a monolithic digital phased array with thousands of channels to scan the environment without mechanical failure points. Hard Science in Silicon: Solving the “difficult link budget” and atmospheric loss by designing from first-principles physics and whiteboard drawings rather than just stitching together existing IP cores. “Dropping the Needle” in the Probe Room: Greg describes the high-stakes world of testing 750 GHz chips, where “dropping a needle” (aligning a probe) requires monitoring a VNA to ensure you haven’t destroyed a fragile, expensive probe. Hiring for the “Pirate Ship”: Teradar is actively seeking “nerdy nerds” across their three tech enclaves: San Jose (IC design), Boston (software), and Connecticut (systems integration). Check out their jobs page or email Greg directly. The CEO vs. CTO Trap: Greg’s advice for technical founders: stay on the bench where you add value and hire a professional CEO to handle the “people stuff,” HR, and endless investor meetings. The Teradar Motto: “If you can see the antenna, you’re not high enough” Greg’s Reading List: Broca’s Brain by Carl Sagan and a “very dry” but fascinating thesis on the history of radio communications in the Vietnam War. Find out more at teradar.com. Remember if you’re interested in applying for positions at Teradar, you can email Greg directly!
