Wireless Communication Systems in the 240 GHz Band: Applications, Feasibility and Challenges

The increasing demand for high data rates and the emergence of new data-hungry applications motivate the exploration of higher frequency bands for the beyond fifth generation (5G) wireless systems. The frequencies above 100 GHz, so-called terahertz (THz) spectrum, offer abundant communication bandwidth, hence enabling, in theory, terabit throughputs using small transceivers and, potentially, high energy efficiency. In this paper, we describe prospective applications and discuss challenges related to short-to-mid-range communication at these frequencies. Moreover, we present some initial results on the 240 GHz system and radio-frequency (RF) transceiver design, envisioned within the WORTECS project. We show that, for applications requiring short-range high-throughput data links, highly integrated THz wireless transceivers with low efficiency on-chip beam steering antennas can be used. These fully integrated transceivers set considerable limitations in terms of achievable data rate and communication distance. To overcome these limitations, in this paper, we propose different approaches, especially for short-range applications.