Wireless communication at 310 GHz using GaAs high-electron-mobility transistors for detection

Abstract

We report on the first error-free terahertz (THz) wireless communication at 0.310 THz for data rates up to 8.2 Gbps using a 18-GHz-bandwidth GaAs/AlGaAs field-effect transistor as a detector. This result demonstrates that low-cost commercially-available plasma-wave transistors whose cutoff frequency is far below THz frequencies can be employed in THz communication. Wireless communication over 50 cm is presented at 1.4 Gbps using a unitravelling-carrier photodiode as a source. Transistor integration is detailed, as it is essential to avoid any deleterious signals that would prevent successful communication. We observed an improvement of the bit error rate with increasing input THz power, followed by a degradation at high input power. Such a degradation appears at lower powers if the photodiode bias is smaller. Higher-datarate communication is demonstrated using a frequency-multiplied source thanks to higher output power. Bit-error-rate measurements at data rates up to 10 Gbps are performed for different input THz powers. As expected, bit error rates degrade as data rate increases. However, degraded communication is observed at some specific data rates. This effect is probably due to deleterious cavity effects and/or impedance mismatches. Using such a system, realtime uncompressed high-definition video signal is successfully and robustly transmitted.

Wide modulation bandwidth terahertz detection in 130 nm CMOS technology

“…This has been shown by Blin et al [20,21] who was the first to use single FET detectors for THz wireless communication. In these experiments, GaAs HEMTs were wire bonded to a 50 Ω printed circuit board (PCB) based transmission line followed by laboratory wideband amplifiers.…”

“…The FET detector can be modulated at high frequencies depending on the applied gate bias voltage and the used channel length [27]. As mentioned in Section 1, Blin et al [20,21] have demonstrated the potential of such applications by successfully detecting data rates up to 8.2 Gbps data using discrete GaAs transistors. However, this has not been yet demonstrated in an integrated solution.…”

“…In the published direct detection/incoherent systems, plasma wave field effect transistors (FETs) have been demonstrated as fast THz power detectors [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. One important advantage of FET based THz detectors is that they are compatible with standard semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) technology and therefore can be used in the design and manufacturing of not only the detectors, but the whole receiver system in which the detector is followed by amplifiers and read-out circuitry [14,15,17].…”

Recent Progress and Future Prospect of Photonics-Enabled Terahertz Communications Research

“…Moreover, unique THz electronic devices utilizing the plasma-wave effect in field-effect transistors [45]- [47] and the resonant tunneling effect [30], [33], [48], [49] have attracted much interest, because they can be operated as both transmitters and receivers.…”

High-Speed Room Temperature Terahertz Detectors Based on InP Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors

“…They are considered as a good candidate for imaging, tomography, spectroscopy, as well as for future high data-rate THz wireless communications. [1][2][3][4][5][6] These applications require high speed and high responsivity detectors, integrated monolithically with antenna and readout electronics.…”