Terahertz Line-of-Sight MIMO Communication: Theory and Practical Challenges

A relentless trend in wireless communications is the hunger for bandwidth, and fresh bandwidth is only to be found at ever higher frequencies. While 5G systems are seizing the mmWave band, the attention of researchers is shifting already to the terahertz range. In that distant land of tiny wavelengths, antenna arrays can serve for more than power-enhancing beamforming. Defying lower-frequency wisdom, spatial multiplexing becomes feasible even in line-of-sight conditions. This article reviews the underpinnings of this phenomenon, and it surveys recent results on the ensuing information-theoretic capacity. Reconfigurable array architectures are put forth that can closely approach such capacity, practical challenges are discussed, and supporting experimental evidence is presented.