Terahertz Network Tester (T-Net)

• Subject Area: Communication Technology and Networks, High-Frequency Technology and Photonic Systems, Signal Processing and Machine Learning for Information Technology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 434501194

The ever-increasing demand for ultra-high data-rate wireless links requires new frequency allocations at the high-end of the electromagnetic spectrum. The wireless industry addressed this need by targeting the THz band for their implementation of future 6th generation mobile communication networks, as announced during the first 6G wireless summit held at the Levi resort in Finnish Lapland on 26th of March 2019. Projections forecast the deployment of 6G networks in 2030, demanding substantial investment in science, technology, and innovation over the next 5 years. This is in line with the establishment of a new IEEE 802.15.3d-2017 standard assigning the 252-322 GHz band for point-to-point wireless communication. The THz range, however, has some peculiarities that need to be considered. For example, THz antennas with very high directivity are needed to compensate for the transmission loss in free space. This enables higher channel isolation in a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) network topology. Thus, THz antennas can minimize interference between adjacent channels, and frequencies can be reused more frequently, thereby improving spectral efficiency and signal quality. First results in the direction of an ultra-high data-rate communication technology up to 100Gbit/s were recently published by the University of Wuppertal. With this technology future MIMO networks could reach data rates of up to one Tbit/s. In addition, new application areas such as edge cloud computing, virtual / augmented reality or machine-to-machine computing must be supported. These use-cases demand not only faster links, but also real-time operation by rapid channel switching and/or beam-steering/tracking at a very low latency. In order to research and build such future THz networks, a Terahertz Network Tester (T-Net) is required. Unfortunately, none of today’s test equipment is capable of handling multiple links in THz wireless networks simultaneously. Even if today’s ultra-high-speed test and measurement equipment doubles its performance in terms of sampling rate, bandwidth, and resolution within the next 5 years, such improvements are not sufficient to address the multi-channel needs of future Tbit/s wireless networks. Therefore, the aim of this proposal is to upgrade today’s test equipment with such missing network analysis functionality. The T-Net project will identify the bottlenecks of the existing test equipment and will provide solutions to overcome them. Finally, a THz wireless network measurement platform is provided to the wireless community, which supports the analysis of high-speed multi-node MIMO networks.

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: Terahertz Network Tester
• Instrumentation Group: 2720 Impedanz- und Dämpfungsmeßgeräte, Frequenzgangmeßgeräte, Netzwerkanalysatoren
• Applicant Institution: Bergische Universität Wuppertal
• Participating Institution: Fraunhofer-Institut für Integrierte Schaltungen (IIS)
• Leader: Professor Dr. Ullrich Pfeiffer