Beam manipulation for terahertz communications

Area of Science:

• Wireless Communication
• Electromagnetics
• Optics

Background:

• Terahertz (THz) frequency band (0.1–10 THz) offers vast spectrum for next-generation wireless systems.
• High-gain directional transmission is crucial for THz communications to overcome limited transmit power and severe propagation losses.
• Dynamic beam manipulation is essential for practical THz systems, enabling performance scaling through architectural innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of terahertz beam manipulation techniques.
• To introduce diffraction theory as the fundamental propagation model for beam manipulation.
• To present specific communication scenarios and experimental verifications of beam manipulation.

Main Methods:

• Review of diffraction theory for beam propagation modeling.
• Detailed analysis of beam manipulation techniques for various communication scenarios.
• Experimental validation using lenses and metasurfaces for beam manipulation.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of efficient beam manipulation across near-field and far-field conditions.
• Experimental verification of three distinct beam manipulation cases using lenses and metasurfaces.
• Highlighting the shift towards architecture-level innovation in THz communications.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic beam manipulation is a key enabler for practical terahertz communications.
• Lenses and metasurfaces are effective tools for experimental verification of beam manipulation.
• Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces offer alternative approaches for future THz beam manipulation.