Terahertz Communication and Sensing

The Terahertz (THz) group’s mission and vision for the next five years range from focusing on THz-specific research areas essential for the development of THz technology to facilitating students a learning environment for preparing them as a trained workforce that can solve challenges with emerging applications using terahertz communication, networks, sensors, imagers, etc. As the global terahertz technology market size is expected to grow at 32.8% CAGR from 2020 to 2029, and can reach above USD 472.6 billion, our focus will be on developing technology in various sub-domains of THz communication and Sensing and creating a conducive environment for collaborative research and learning. To this end, our focus will be on the following areas, to name a few.

1. THz-specific research thrust. Terahertz band, ranging from 0.1 THz to 10 THz, offers huge bandwidth to solve today’s wireless capacity crunch problem. Furthermore, Terahertz radiation can penetrate a wide variety of non-conduction material with photon energy four orders of magnitudes lower than X-rays. These unique features also come up with additional challenges, for example, high absorption and propagation loss, complex design for transceivers, antenna, channel modeling, etc. Nevertheless, our research will try to address some of these challenges with our activities in the following research areas:

•THz communication and networking system,
•THz sensing and imaging,
•Bio-terahertz design,
•THz signal generation and detection,
•Materials and devices for THz systems,
•THz semiconductor chip design by using CMOS/BiCMOS processes,
•THz photonic devices and systems,
•THz system design with AI and security protocols, and
•6G standardization activities.

2. THz Simulators and Emulators. Our vision entails developing simulators and emulators to model channels, design THz links up to networks, as well as THz circuit and device modeling. Channel characterization, modeling, and measurements are vital for developing terahertz systems today. The development of simulators and emulators is essential to understand the THz propagation behavior through channel modeling and various modulation and coding schemes useful in THz band.

THz modules and components. We would focus on developing THz modules and components required for an end-to-end THz communication and sensing system. For example, we would work towards the development of on-wafer semiconductor chip development and measurement, beamforming, front edge packaging unit, photonic sources for THz as well as various components for imaging and spectroscopy, metasurfaces and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), materials growth and device fabrication, bio-terahertz sensors, etc.

1. Teaching and Laboratory. We already offer a master’s program in Terahertz communication and Sensing, which includes courses from theory to simulation and experimental design aspects of THz communication and Sensing. We have acquired some THz hardware for conducting a laboratory for students to prepare them to understand the unique challenges in carrying out THz measurements, communication experiments, antenna design, and developing a terahertz testbench.

2. Targeted outputs. In the next five years, we will actively collaborate with national and international research groups and labs to develop THz technology through the sharing of knowledge and research findings. Our effort will lead to intellectual property (IP) creation, manpower creation, a national-wide THz testbed development, and tackle global scientific challenges related to THz communication and sensing.

Terahertz communications hold promise for 6G and IoT, with applications ranging from satellite communication to chip-level data exchange. It is also vital for the Internet of Bio-Nano Things, real-time data transmission in tiny-scale environments, and mobility scenarios like autonomous vehicles and drones. Wireless connectivity and information exchange are other applications that could be transformed by adopting the THz band. Therefore, the time is ripe for us to pursue terahertz communication and sensing at full speed with the help of our vision.