Short-Range Ultra-Broadband Terahertz Communications: Concepts and Perspectives

TLDR

Potential applications of multi‑gigabit terahertz systems are contextualized within emerging WLANs/WPANs. The paper proposes ultra‑broadband terahertz communication using directed NLOS transmissions and omni‑directional dielectric mirrors to enable such paths. The authors determine antenna gain requirements from propagation constraints, then evaluate high‑gain, highly directed transmissions and dielectric mirror performance via calibrated ray‑tracing simulations in a dynamic office environment. Directed NLOS paths make terahertz systems robust to shadowing, and partial‑wall dielectric mirrors significantly improve indoor signal coverage.

Abstract

We propose the concept of ultra-broadband terahertz communication, based on directed non-line-of-sight (NLOS) transmissions. Potential applications of such a system supporting multi-gigabit data rates are given, and put into the context of currently emerging WLANs/WPANs. The technology and propagation constraints serve as boundary conditions for the determination of the required antenna gain to support ultra-broadband communication. Resulting high-gain antenna requirements will necessitate highly directed transmissions. We propose the use of omni-directional dielectric mirrors to support directed NLOS paths. Their performance is investigated with ray-tracing simulations of a terahertz propagation channel in a dynamic office environment, which is calibrated with measured building-material and mirror parameters. We demonstrate that a directed NLOS path scheme will make a terahertz communication system robust to shadowing. Furthermore, we show that dielectric mirrors covering only parts of the walls will significantly enhance the signal coverage in a typical indoor scenario.