6G communications Push for Effective THz Sensing Technology: MOSFET Rectification Model Needs to be Refounded

CMOS technology can easily handle the modulation/demodulation process of a RF signal, but cannot reach, at least today, bands toward 1 THz. For this reason, there has been great interest in evaluating the intrinsic rectification process that occurs in a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) structure. Recent results showed that high detection velocity can be achieved using a device with proper detection architecture. These results, combined with the intrinsic low cost of the CMOS technology, allows to foreseen this as a suitable solution for the large market of the future 6G communication systems. The MOSFET detector is studied by TCAD simulations, and its characteristics explained following the self-mixing model. Numerical results show a new picture of the device functioning, giving a new description of its external response. The knowledge of the self-mixing mechanisms allowed to achieve an accurate design of an array of 64 rectifiers, each one integrated with a suitable printed antenna.