Photonic Terahertz Wireless Communication: Towards the Goal of High-Speed Kilometer-Level Transmission
Weiping Li, Jianjun Yu, Bowen Zhu, Feng Wang, Junjie Ding, Jiao Zhang, Min Zhu, Feng Zhao, Tangyao Xie, Kaihui Wang, Yi Wei, Xiongwei Yang, Bingchang Hua, Mingzheng Lei, Yuancheng Cai, Li Zhao, Wen Zhou, Jianguo Yu
Abstract
From the perspective of wireless transmission distance in the terahertz-band (THz-band), the 10–100 m, 100–1000 m, and ≥1000 m ranges are recommended for indoor communications, medium-distance communications, and long-distance communications, respectively. However, most existing photonic terahertz communication demonstrations reported in previous studies have a distance of less than 100 m, with some being even shorter at 10 m or 1 m. In this study, by combining high-gain and high-sensitivity terahertz modules, as well as signal processing technology, we have successfully demonstrated transmission over 850 m with a net rate of 50 Gbit/s at a 320 GHz carrier frequency through outdoor field experimental verification. This particular demonstration represents the most significant distance-rate product, as well as the longest wireless distance achieved so far for photonic terahertz wireless communication. The results demonstrate that the integration of terahertz photonics, electronics, and cutting-edge DSP algorithms, has the potential to enable long-distance and high-speed wireless communication for frequencies ≥300 GHz. Our work represents another significant stride towards achieving our goal of realizing the world's first photonic terahertz-wave communication over kilometer-level distances.