A versatile experimental testbed for ultrabroadband communication networks above 100 GHz

Communication at terahertz (THz) frequencies is envisioned as a near-future landmark in wireless networking and a key component of the sixth generation (6G) wireless systems and beyond. In the last decade, major progress has happened in terms of device technology development as well as THz-wave propagation and channel modeling. In order to advance THz communication and networking research, there is tremendous necessity in developing programmable software-defined hardware and architectures that operate at THz frequencies and are able to process signals with tens to hundreds of GHz of bandwidth, thus making most out of moving to THz band. This paper presents a versatile testbed for conducting wireless experimental research above 100 GHz. The platform consists of multiple sets of analog front-ends at three different frequencies between 100 GHz and 1 THz as well as three different digital signal processing back-ends, able to manipulate more than 10 GHz of bandwidth in real-time. Implementation details and early experimental results to demonstrate the platform capabilities are presented.

Automated summary

Communication at terahertz frequencies is seen as a key component in wireless networking and future systems. The need for programmable hardware and architectures at these frequencies is highlighted in order to optimize the move to terahertz band. The paper presents a versatile testbed for wireless experimental research above 100 GHz, showcasing its capabilities through implementation details and early experimental results.