High-speed graphene-based sub-terahertz receivers enabling wireless communications for 6G and beyond

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Wireless Communication

Background:

• Exponential growth in wireless data traffic necessitates advanced communication solutions.
• Sub-terahertz (sub-THz) frequencies offer high capacity for short-range applications.
• Current sub-THz receivers face limitations in performance and integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate novel sub-terahertz receivers utilizing graphene.
• To overcome limitations of existing sub-THz receiver technologies.
• To enable high-speed, short-range wireless communication applications.

Main Methods:

• Integration of a high-quality sub-THz cavity with a high-mobility graphene channel.
• Development of a direct detection scheme for passive operation.
• Characterization of receiver performance, including bandwidth and responsivity.

Main Results:

• Graphene-based sub-THz receivers achieved multigigabit-per-second data rates.
• Demonstrated a trade-off between bandwidth (up to 40 GHz) and responsivity (up to 0.16 A/W).
• Successful short-range communication up to approximately 3 meters.

Conclusions:

• Graphene receivers offer advantages like compactness and passive operation for sub-THz communication.
• The developed technology supports high-speed chip-to-chip and device-to-device communication.
• Findings pave the way for next-generation short-range wireless systems.