Integrated Silicon Photonic Crystals Toward Terahertz Communications

The terahertz frequency range locates between 0.1 and 10 THz. This range accommodates atmospheric windows with staggering absolute bandwidth. It holds a potential for point-to-point wireless communications with an aggregate capacity reaching terabit per second in a range up to a kilometer. This unique capability is envisaged for backhauls between base stations and for local area networks. To this end, efficiency and compactness of the transceivers are crucial for successful large-scale adoption. However, state-of-the-art terahertz front ends are based on radio-frequency or photomixing technologies that are inefficient, bulky, or complicated. In principle, as a neighbor of the microwave and optics domains, the terahertz band can leverage technologies from both sides to overcome those challenges. Recently, low-loss integrated circuits based on photonic crystal waveguides are developed for routing terahertz waves. Here, a progress report on core components, including waveguides and diplexers, is presented. Additionally, the interfacing of the platform with electronic sources and detectors on one end, and with antennas for free-space coupling on the other end, is discussed. Currently, the platform can support terahertz communications at a data rate over 10 Gbit s(-1). Challenges and opportunities are discussed in the light of future development in this area.