THz Communication

Contents
List of Figures.................................................................................................................................... 3
List of Tables......................................................................................................................................4
1. Introduction to Terahertz Communication............................................................................. 5
1.1 THz Channel Characteristics and Influences........................................................ 5
1.2 Research on THz Communication in China and Overseas.................................. 5
1.3 Progress in Standard Development.........................................................................7
1.4 THz Spectrum Utilization........................................................................................ 8
1.5 Government-Funded Research Programs on THz Communication................... 9
2. Typical THz Applications........................................................................................................ 13
2.1 Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Transmission................................................................ 13
2.2 THz Communication at the Micro-nano Scale.................................................... 16
2.3 Inter-Satellite Communication in Air-and-Space Integration........................... 17
2.4 Joint Communication and Sensing based on the THz Band.............................. 17
3. Core Devices of THz Communication....................................................................................20
3.1 THz Signal Source...................................................................................................20
3.2 THz Related Key Devices....................................................................................... 22
3.2.1 THz Power devices..........................................................................................22
3.2.2 THz Frequency Converter............................................................................. 23
3.2.3 General-purpose THz Components and Subsystems..................................24
3.3 THz Antenna............................................................................................................25
3.4 THz RF System Integration................................................................................... 26
4. Thoughts on THz Channel Measurement and Modeling.....................................................28
4.1 New Thoughts on THz Channel Measurement Technology............................... 28
4.1.1 Ultra-broadband Channel Measurement.....................................................28
4.1.2 THz/Sub-THz Band Channel Measurement................................................29
4.1.3 Overcoming High Path Loss.......................................................................... 29
4.1.4 Angle Domain Channel Parameters Measurement.....................................30
4.2 THz Channel Estimation and Channel Modeling............................................... 31
4.2.1 Channel Parameters Estimation................................................................... 31
4.2.2 Channel Modeling...........................................................................................32
5. Key Technologies and Challenges of THz Communication.................................................34
5.1 New OTA Technologies...........................................................................................34

1
 5.1.1 Modulation and Coding Technology.............................................................34
5.1.2 Waveform Design............................................................................................35
5.1.2.1 Waveform Design Strategy..................................................................... 36
5.1.2.2 THz (New) Waveform Design.................................................................38
5.1.2.3 Physical Layer Numerology Design....................................................... 41
5.1.3 Synchronization...............................................................................................45
5.2 Massive MIMO Technology................................................................................... 45
5.2.1 Phased Array Antenna Architecture.............................................................45
5.2.2 Beam Tracking................................................................................................ 48
5.2.3 Spatial Multiplexing....................................................................................... 49
5.3 THz-Related Network Layer Technology.............................................................50
5.4 THz and Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS)......................................................51
5.5 Joint Communication and Radio/Radar Sensing................................................ 52
6. Challenges to Design and Testing of THz Communication Prototype Systems.................57
6.1 Challenges to the Design of THz Hardware Systems.......................................... 57
6.2 Development and Testing of THz Prototype Systems......................................... 61
7. 6G Development Planning and Suggestions based on the THz Band.................................68
8. References................................................................................................................................. 70

2
 List of Figures
Figure 1: Channel Attenuation Caused by Different Environmental Factors in Different
Frequency Bands [1]........................................................................................................... 5
Figure 2: THz Publications in Recent Years [1]......................................................................... 7
Figure 3: Target Application Scenarios of IEEE 802.15.3d....................................................... 8
Figure 4: High-speed Access Application (Source: Internet)................................................... 13
Figure 5: FWA Operating Mode............................................................................................... 14
Figure 6: Application of Backhaul Link................................................................................... 14
Figure 7: Application of Secure Communication (Source: Internet)....................................... 15
Figure 8: High-speed In-Vehicle Communication....................................................................16
Figure 9: THz-based Micro-nano Communication.................................................................. 16
Figure 10: THz-based Inter-Satellite Communication (Source: Internet)................................17
Figure 11: (a) Specular reflection of objects in the microwave frequency band; (b) Diffuse
reflection of the same objects in the visible and infrared bands; (c) Specular reflection
and diffuse reflection in the THz band [15]......................................................................19
Figure 12: Technology Routes of THz Signal Source [16]...................................................... 21
Figure 13: The 50 to 250 GHz Broadband InP HBT Power Amplifier MMIC Series Released
by Teledyne....................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 14: A Diode Design....................................................................................................... 24
Figure 15: PA’s Saturated Output Power vs Carrier Frequency [31]........................................37
Figure 16: Symbol Error Rate (SER) Comparison Between OFDM and SC-FDE................. 39
Figure 17: Sub-Carrier (1024), Data Block Size (256), Oversampling Factor (4). PAPR
Comparison Between DFT-s- OFDM and OFDM........................................................... 40
Figure 18: PAPR Comparison Between OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM, UW-DFT-s-OFDM, SC-FDE,
OTFS and DFT-s-OTFS....................................................................................................41
Figure 19: BER Comparison Between OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM, UW-DFT-s-OFDM, SC-FDE,
OTFS and DFT-s-OTFS in Case of Doppler Shift........................................................... 41
Figure 20: "Numerology" Defined in Communication System [1]..........................................42
Figure 21: Link-Level Performance When Phase Noise Exists: a) OFDM and b) SC-FDMA
use Rel-15 compliant PTRS; c) OFDM and d) SC-FDMA use enhanced PTRS structures,
90 GHz carrier, rank-2...................................................................................................... 43
Figure 22: Major Design Principles/Methods of "Numerology" in Traditional Communication

3
 System [34]....................................................................................................................... 45
Figure 23: Fully-Connected Architecture of Hybrid Beamforming.........................................47
Figure 24: Sub-array Architecture of Hybrid Beamforming.................................................... 47
Figure 25: Hierarchical Generalized Architecture of Hybrid Beamforming............................48
Figure 26: JCAS Application on WiFi and 6G......................................................................... 53
Figure 27: CSI Measurement Error Sources with Typical WiFi 2.4 GHz Receiver with Direct
Down Conversion Architecture [44].................................................................................55
Figure 28: Phase Noise of Sub-THz Up-Converter Design..................................................... 58
Figure 29: Phase Noise Simulation Result............................................................................... 59
Figure 30: Band-Pass Filter and Power Amplifier Added to the Sub-THz Up-Converter
Design............................................................................................................................... 60
Figure 31: Simulation Result with the Band-Pass Filter and Power Amplifier Added............60

List of Tables
Table 1: Overview of Global THz Studies..................................................................................6
Table 2: List of THz Communication Spectrums Identified by WRC-19 [11].......................... 9
Table 3: List of Government-Funded THz Programs............................................................... 10
Table 4: Characteristics of Typical Semiconductor Materials..................................................23

4
1. Introduction to Terahertz Communication
This chapter briefly introduces the characteristics and the status quo of terahertz (THz)
communication, including THz channel characteristics, research status at home and abroad ,
IEEE’s progress in developing THz standards, frequency spectrum involved, and some
government-funded research programs on THz communication.

1.1THz Channel Characteristics and Influences

To enable efficient wireless communication in the THz band, investigations of channel

characteristics in this frequency range are needed. The THz band features the unique
reflection and scattering attenuation of high frequency bands, as well as the spatial
distributions of specular reflection and non-specular reflection along the propagation paths.
Highly directional beams are usually used to combat the high path loss in the THz
band,however they result in beam misalignment in the frequency domain even for serving
mobile users in a small area only. The main propagation characteristics of THz waves are
shown in Figure 1, which must be considered in THz channel modeling. Existing channel
models cannot be applicable to the THz band, because they cannot capture and emulate
different phenomena, including attenuation and noise due to molecular absorption, scattering
caused by particles with an equivalent wavelength of THz, and scintillation resulted from THz
radiation. Such propagation characteristics ask for a new channel model to effectively
characterize channels in the THz band. In particular, in the lower THz spectrum, such as the
frequency band below 500 GHz, channel characteristics need to be further explored and
analyzed.

Figure 1: Channel Attenuation Caused by Different Environmental Factors in Different Frequency Bands [1]

1.2Research on THz Communication in China and Overseas

5
 The term Terahertz was first proposed by the International Microwave Symposium in the
1970s to describe interferometers’ frequency spectrum, diode detectors’ coverage, and water-laser
resonance among others [1][2][3][4]. In around 2000, THz was referred to as sub-millimeter
waves in the frequency range from 100 GHz to 10 THz. However, there was not a clear definition
on the boundary between sub-millimeter wave and far-infrared. The concept of using THz for
ultra-broadband communication based on non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signal components was first
proposed in article [5], which was considered as a viable solution for extremely high data rate
transmission. Since then, the application of THz technology in communication has been a focus in
academic studies. The relevant studies have been captured in the statistics of IEEE and Web of
Science publications in recent years (as shown in Figure 2). Through joint efforts, research teams
around the world are developing new designs, new materials and new processes, highlighting the
huge prospect of the THz technology. Table 1 is an overview of global studies in the field of THz
(partially sourced from [1]).

Table 1: Overview of Global THz Studies

Team/Lab Region Research Interests

Mittleman Lab, Brown University United THz physical layer, THz spectroscopy, THz
States detection
Broadband Wireless Networking Lab, United THz physical layer access layer, THz
Georgia Institute of Technology States micro-nano communication, THz devices
NaNoNetworking Center Spain THz micro-nano communication
Ultra-broadband United THz physical layer access layer, THz
Nano-Communication Laboratory, States micro-nano communication, THz devices
University at Buffalo
Terahertz Electronics Laboratory United THz sources, detectors, spectrometers,
(UCLA) States reconfigurable meta-film, imaging and
spectroscopy
MIT Terahertz Integrated Electronics United Sensing, metrology, security and
Group States communication in the THz band
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid Germany THz physical layer access layer and RF
State Physics IAF electronics
Terahertz Communications Germany Channel measurement and modeling, THz
Lab reflectors
NTT Core technology laboratory Japan THz integrated devices and modular
Group technology
Texas Instrument Kilby United Sub-THz ultra-low power CMOS systems
Lab States
Tonouchi Lab, Osaka University Japan THz nanoscience, THz bioscience, THz
biosensing, and industrial applications
THz Electronics Systems Lab, Korea South THz physical layer access layer and RF
University Korea electronics
Nanocommunications Center, Finland THz physical layer and micro-nano
Tampere University of Technology communication

6
University of Electronic Science and China High-power THz sources, new THz sources,
Technology of China THz quasi-optical devices, THz
communication, THz active metasurface,
key technologies in the front part of THz
imaging systems, THz high-speed direct
control devices and applications
CETC No. 13 Research Institute China THz mixers, frequency multipliers,
amplifiers

Figure 2: THz Publications in Recent Years [1]

1.3Progress in Standard Development

Standard development for future wireless communication systems in the THz band was
initiated by the IEEE 802.15 THz Interest Group in early 2008. In 2013, the IEEE 802.15
WPAN Task Group 3-D 100 Gbit/s wireless (TG 3d 100 G) [6] was officially established to
develop 100 Gbps wireless communication standards for the frequency range from 275 GHz
to 325 GHz. Thanks to the TG’s efforts, IEEE 802.15.3d-2017, the world's first wireless
communication standard, was approved on September 28, 2017 and released on October 12,
2018 [7]. This standard targets at a series of THz communication application scenarios,
including Kiosk download, intra-device communication, wireless backhaul and fronthaul, and
radio links in data centers (as shown in Figure 3). Relevant application cases, performance
and system function requirements are defined in the application requirements document of
IEEE 802.15 3d [8].

7
 Figure 3: Target Application Scenarios of IEEE 802.15.3d

The standard covers the new physical layer technology and the MAC layer technology
that support 8 channels with a bandwidth from 2.16 GHz to 69.12 GHz. In addition, it
supports seven modulation formats (BPSK, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), 8-PSK,
16-QAM, 64-QAM and OOK) and three encoding formats (RS (240,224), 14/15-LDPC and
11/14-LDPC). The standard also supports single-carrier mode and OOK mode at the physical
layer.
The channel modeling document [9] summarizes channel propagation characteristics of
target scenarios, and specifically proposes channel models based on different application
scenarios. As the next step, the standard will look into the interference of THz communication
on the frequency bands identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and
make it available for radio astronomy, satellite earth exploration, and space research services
among other applications [10]. As is known to all, the power loss in THz propagation is
mainly attributed to the absorption of water vapor. Therefore, an important research area in
the next step is detailed analysis of regional propagation characteristics.
The wireless THz connectivity specified in IEEE 802.15.3d is only applicable to fixed
point-to-point links. THz-based applications in WLAN are still to be explored further.
Currently speaking, IEEE 802.15 TAG THz is also exploring new solutions for the physical
layer and the link layer in the sub-THz and THz bands within the 10 GHz to 100 GHz range.
The ideas and solutions proposed by IEEE (802.15.3d) will contribute to the implementation
of THz communication and set a foundation for 6G wireless systems in the future.

1.4THz Spectrum Utilization

In terms of THz communication spectrum, while ensuring some passive services, such as
radio astronomy and Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS), can be protected from harmful
interference, radio regulations allow the use of spectrum above 275 GHz. The 2015 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) gradually identified the spectrums for terrestrial mobile
services and fixed services in the range from 275 GHz to 450 GHz while ensuring no interference
to passive services, and these spectrums were discussed under the WRC 2019 agenda item 1.15.
The frequency bands identified by the WRC 2019 (275 - 296 GHz, 306 - 313 GHz, 318 - 333 GHz

8
and 356 - 450 GHz) will be used for implementing land mobile services and fixed services, but in
the range of 296 - 306 GHz, 313 - 318 GHz, and 333 - 356 GHz, certain restrictions need to be
introduced. Adding upon the spectrum previously allocated from 252 to 275 GHz, a total of 160
GHz can be used for THz communication in the range from 275 GHz to 450 GHz with no specific
EESS protection requirements..

Table 2: List of THz Communication Spectrums Identified by WRC-19 [11]

Frequency Band (GHz) Rules for Spectrum Use

252-275 Prioritize land mobile services and fixed services
275-296
For land mobile services and fixed services
306-313
318-333
No specific EESS protection requirements
356-450
Limited use for land mobile services and fixed services, with
296-306
EESS protection requirements

The Confederation of European Posts and Telecommunications (CEPT) completed usage

specifications for the 92 to 114.25 GHz (W band) and the 130 to 174.8 GHz (D band) in 2018 [12].
Other than that, there are so far limited regulations on using 90 GHz and above frequencies in
Europe. Fixed wireless services operating in the spectrums defined above feature the following: 1)
Very large available bandwidth that allows low-cost data traffic in the areas of diversified service
providers; 2) The deployment of radio links is more feasible than that of wired connections; 3)
Low signal interference and low interception probability, which ensuring high security of signals.
In 2019, in order to address the ETSI requirements for radio measurement applications in the
frequency range from 120 GHz to 260 GHz, CEPT developed standards for the corresponding
spectrums.
Also in 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to apply new
regulations to frequency bands above 95 GHz, so as to accelerate the application of sub-THz and
THz bands [13]. This means that experimental licenses can be obtained for the frequency range
from 95 GHz to 3 THz, as well as the unlicensed spectrum at 21.2 GHz.

1.5Government-Funded Research Programs on THz Communication

The THz band guarantees a large throughput, and can theoretically expand the available
frequency spectrum to several THz and achieve a capacity of Tbps [10]. Because of the huge
potential of THz technology, extensive research iscarrying out, along withnew designs, new
materials and new manufacturing technologies in the THz band. Governments and scientific
institutes around the world wish to open a new horizon for 6G in terms of communication and
devices, and are therefore providing robust support for the various THz programs. Table 3 lists the
latest THz programs projects at home and abroad (partially sourced from [1]).

9
 Table 3: List of Government-Funded THz Programs

Program Funded by Commencement Objectives

R&D Program on The Ministry of 2008 Explore new technologies to
Expanding Radio Information and increase spectrum utilization,
Spectrum Resources Communications promote shared spectrum use
and the Ministry of and adoption of higher
Education, Culture, frequency bands
Sports, Science and
Technology, Japan
Wireless LAN South Korean 2008 Explore THz WLAN/PAN
Communication government/IITA communication systems
Technology in THz based on electronic devices
band
Room temperature The EU Framework 2010 Manufacture solid-state
THz emission and Programme for transmitters and detectors
detection Research operating in the THz band
semiconductor
nano-devices
(ROOTHz Program)
TERAPAN: Federal Ministry of 2013 Develop an indoor THz
Controllable Education and adaptive wireless
Antenna-based Research, Germany communication prototype
Ultra-High Data Rate with a data rate of 100 Gbps
Transmission System
for the THz Band
iBROW: Omni-present Horizon 2020 of EU 2015 Explore innovative
Ultra-Broadband ultra-broadband short-range
Wireless wireless transceiver
Communication based technology with a low cost
on THz Transceiver and high efficiency
Technology
TERAPOD: Horizon 2020 of EU 2017 Demonstrate THz radio link
THz-based communication and
Ultra-Broadband proof-of-concept
Wireless Access
Network
ThoR: THz Horizon 2020 of EU 2018 Propose solutions to support
End-to-end Wireless and the National the data backhaul and
Communication Institute of fronthaul of the 300 GHz
System Delivering Information and frequency band
High Date Rate Communications
Technology (NICT),
Japan

10
ULTRAWAVE: Horizon 2020 of EU 2017 Achieve 5G cellular intensity
mmWave Traveling by employing the 100 GHz
Wave Tube-based and above frequency bands
Large-capacity to develop large-capacity
Wireless backhaul link
Communication in the
100 GHz and above
Frequency Bands
TERRANOVA: THz Horizon 2020 of EU 2017 Provide a reliable connection
Wireless Transmission with high rate and almost
Technology to Deliver zero latency to realize the
the Quality Experience evolution from optical fiber
of Optical Networks to wireless
EPIC: Next-generation Horizon 2020 of EU 2017 Explore new FEC encoding
of Channel Encoding technology to enable Tbps
for Tbps Transmission wireless transmission
DREAM: D-band Horizon 2020 of EU 2017 Explore a wireless backhaul
Wireless Solution to solution with a data rate
Achieve a excelling the current V-band
Reconfigurable Mesh and E-band to achieve the
Network beyond 100 data rate of optical fiber
Gbps systems
WORTECS: Wireless Horizon 2020 of EU 2017 Develop a wireless
Optical and Radio THz transmission technology
Communications capable of delivering Tbps
rate in the frequency band
above 90 GHz through the
integration of photonic and
electronic technologies
TeraNova: Integrated National Science 2017 Develop the first R&D and
Test Platform for THz Foundation (NSF) test platform for the
Communication ultra-broadband THz
communication network
EAGER: Research and National Science 2017 Systematically explore how
Development of THz Foundation (NSF) to implement innovative
Components based on THz sources in different
High-performance working modes
Optical Phonons
Innovative THz National Science 2017 Explore innovative THz
Generators based on Foundation (NSF) generators based on the
Magnetic Materials theory of transforming THz
waves through magnetic
oscillation

11
mmWave and THz The National 863 2010 Research on three terahertz
Wireless Program of China communication architectures
Communication covering the frequency range
Technology from 0.1 THz to 7 THz
Development
THz Wireless A major special 2018 In response to the
Communication program of the application requirements of
Technologies and Ministry of Science high-speed space
Systems and Technology of transmission and the
China next-generation of mobile
communication, explore an
overall technical solution for
THz high-speed
communication systems;
explore channel model of
THz spatial and terrestrial
communication;
explore high-speed and
high-precision THz signal
capturing and tracking
technology; explore
high-speed baseband signal
processing technology
featuring low complexity
and low power consumption
as well as the IC design
method; explore THz
high-speed communication
baseband platform; explore
THz high-speed modulation
technologies, including THz
direct modulation, THz
mixed modulation, and THz
photoelectric modulation;
explore RF units for THz
high-speed communication;
integrate THz
communication baseband,
RF and antenna to develop
an experimental THz
high-speed communication
system, and complete THz
high-speed communication
testing

12
2.Typical THz Applications
The THz band can provide a large amount of available bandwidth to meet the requirements of
ultra-high-speed wireless connection and the Tbps rate in the future. Because of the large path loss
and environmental impacts in the THz band, it has a limited coverage and is therefore more
suitable for high-speed communication within a smaller range. How to effectively utilize the large
bandwidth of the THz band while ensuring reasonable coverage is one of the key problems to be
resolved in the study of THz application scenarios. In consideration of the large bandwidth and the
unique channel characteristics, regardless of the challenges ahead, THz communication can still
foster a wide range of unique applications to address the potential needs of humankind in the 6G
era, such as ground-based indoor and outdoor wireless access, minimum-range communication,
air-and-space integration, and joint communication and sensing services.

2.1 Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Transmission

Taking overall consideration of the THz channel characteristics and the current ITU
allocation of the THz spectrum, the application prospects of the low-frequency part of THz
spectrum in the 6G era are discussed in the below. Therefore, the THz band referred to in the
below is mainly from 100 GHz to 500 GHz, that is, the sub-THz spectrum.
High-speed wireless access is the most prominent application of wireless communication.
THz communication can be used in 6G cellular cells to establish a hierarchical cellular network or
heterogeneous network in combination with the low frequency band systems, providing
ultra-high-speed data communication within a coverage of 10 m to 50 m, and offering large
capacity transmission service to hotspots. Apart from hotspot coverage, the THz band also needs
to address the requirements and challenges of continuous high-speed outdoor coverage.
Continuous coverage is a key requirement of wireless communication applications. The
application outlook of the THz band in this area is an important indicator when considering it as a
key 6G candidate technology.

Figure 4: High-speed Access Application (Source: Internet)

FWA(fix wireless access) is a wireless access operating mode that provides fixed and mobile

13
users with seamless connectivity between ultra-high-speed wired network and wireless devices. It
meets the transmission requirements of HD multimedia streaming and UHD video conferencing,
and addresses the last bit of challenge when extending network coverage from outdoor to indoor.

Figure 5: FWA Operating Mode

THz can support short-range communication and effectively minimize the negative effects
due to high path attenuation and molecular attenuation in the THz band. The typical application
scenarios include short-range high-speed download (such as KIOSK). Such applications require
terminals to be capable of transmitting at high data rates. The distance between the user and the
terminal is usually less than 1 m, so as to fit in the short transmission range and the point-to-point
(P2P) network topology.
THz communication enables seamless interconnection between the ultra-high-speed wired
network and personal wireless devices. By coordinating the wireless and wired link transmission
rates, it can support bandwidth-intensive applications such as HD holographic video conferencing.
It can be used to establish a Tbps link among adjacent devices, such as the ultra-high-speed data
transmission between personal devices, greatly improving the data transmission rate.
The THz band lays a solid foundation for the development of large-capacity wireless
fronthaul/backhaul links, and can be expanded further for the deployment of ultra-dense networks
and coordinated multipoint transmission. Taking the large bandwidth of THz into consideration, in
the application scenarios of backhaul and fronthaul links, large-scale high-gain directional antenna
arrays can be employed at the transmitting and receiving ends to increase the beamforming gain,
hence to enable long-range transmission.

Figure 6: Application of Backhaul Link

14
 Apart from the above, THz can also be used for secure communication. The main
applications involve the following: using ultra-broadband secure communication links in military
applications to detect dangerous objects and investigate targets; using the multi-antenna
technology to generate extremely narrow beams that eliminate interception; using the spread
spectrum technology on ultra-broadband channels to defend interference attacks.

Figure 7: Application of Secure Communication (Source: Internet)

The vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, and in-vehicle communications on the

horizon require high bandwidth connections. Autonomous vehicles need to be capable of
processing information and batch-downloading data in real time, so as to allow ultra-high-speed
data transmission and massive data upload, and optimize the large-scale cloud traffic. The THz
technology is a reliable solution for such applications (as shown in Figure 8). But we need to
resolve many related challenges, such as vehicle scheduling, autonomous link establishment,
inter-regional vehicle control and switching, map planning, and THz spectrum utilization
efficiency, etc..

15
 Figure 8: High-speed In-Vehicle Communication

2.2 THz Communication at the Micro-nano Scale

A high-speed THz wireless link can connect two or more PCBs, or connect different chips on
the same PCB of a device, to enable wireless high-speed data exchange within a small section of
​ ​ a device. Through planar nano-antennas, THz communication allows the wireless on-chip
network to scale effectively, shaping an ultra-high-speed link that meets the strict requirements of
footprint-limited and communication-intensive on-chip scenarios, usually with a target data rate of
up to Tbps. In addition, short-range communication based on the THz band can be used for
wireless connections between large-scale data centers, allowing high-speed communication among
the servers and eliminating the complexity of wired network design and cabling.

Figure 9: THz-based nano Communication

16
 THz features a wavelength of the molecular scale, which makes it possible to monitor blood,
cholesterol, tumor biomarkers, etc. through nano sensors, build nano sensor networks to collect
health-related user data, and report health data via the wireless interface between nano sensors and
micro devices, thereby enabling health monitoring. Nano-sensors can be used for quick detection
of chemical compounds, which require a network with a large number of nano-sensor nodes to be
deployed.
Different nano-scale devices can be interconnected through the IoNT, which use nano
transceivers and nano antennas for different tracking purposes. The nano-scale Internet allows
micro devices at nano-scale to be interconnected, and supports super-scale connection between
objects with its ultra-large bandwidth, enabling the mMTC to expand further.

2.3 Inter-Satellite Communication in Air-and-Space Integration

As one of the key 6G enablers, air-and-space integration ensures three-dimensional coverage
of the future 6G system around the globe. Space communication no longer suffers attenuation
caused by molecular absorption or other environmental impacts. Despite the free space loss, it can
efficiently utilize the large bandwidth of THz to achieve highly reliable inter-satellite data
transmission at ultra-high data rate and low latency with low energy consumption, meeting the
requirements of air-and-space integrated communication in future.

Figure 10: THz-based Inter-Satellite Communication (Source: Internet)

2.4 Joint Communication and Sensing based on the THz Band

Because of its unique characteristics, the THz band can be used in scenarios including
wireless communication, recognition, sensing, imaging, positioning, and navigation. Among them,
the sensing-communication integration as a major trend in 6G development has great application
prospects, which allows highly accurate perception of the environment based on the THz band.
This is mainly because the frequency band can achieve very high perception accuracy at almost all
physical scales (including distance, angle, and Doppler information).

17
 The application of the THz band greatly facilitates the joint implementation of the
sensing-positioning-communication integration. THz allows environmental perception in real time.
Its sub-wavelength characteristics, frequency selective resonance, and material absorption
properties make it possible to perceive the environment according to the signal characteristics
observed. The ultra-wide frequency spectrum of THz provides an effective link for wireless data
sensing and real-time calculation. The high-frequency characteristics of THz enable THz imaging
and centimeter-level positioning, effectively improve positioning accuracy and realize the
integration of sensing, imaging and positioning, laying a solid foundation for holographic
communication. The THz system can reconstruct a physical space within a wide angle through
beam scanning. Electronic beam scanning can be done in real time; therefore, THz systems can be
used to measure complex environments such as offices in real time. Unlike optical imaging of
cameras, it is not affected by the light, and can penetrate some obstacles, such as curtains, thereby
allowing us to perceive in a wireless manner. In addition, wireless signals in the THz band
produce specific vibrations to or absorption to specific objects and gases, therefore THz signals
can be used to detect specific chemicals in beverages or in the air based on the frequency
characteristics, and compact THz systems can be integrated in 6G terminals for general inspection.
THz signals can also be integrated in the terminals to enable gesture recognition, thereby realizing
contactless human-computer interaction or safe scanning of the human body.
By perceiving the highly accurate reconstruction of the surrounding environment, THz
systems can predict the channel characteristics of a mobile device during communication, assist
the calibration of directional antennas, enable the adaptability of real-time positioning and
wireless functions, thereby allowing the sensing function to assist and support information
transmission. Such information fusion can also be applied to intelligent transportation, shopping
and other retail activities.
Specifically, unlike cameras and other optical devices, THz systems can be used to observe
NLOS objects, and are therefore suitable for rescue detection, unmanned driving and positioning.
Because the light wavelength is smaller than the surface roughness of the object, observing NLOS
objects using an optical system requires more sophisticated equipment and computation. Moreover,
low-frequency (< 10 GHz) radar systems have poor imaging capabilities and can be easily affected
by multipath reflections in a complex environment. THz systems have combined a number of
advantages of microwave and visible light systems. The short wavelength and large bandwidth
allow THz systems to achieve a sensing accuracy comparable to that of optical devices. Other than
that, THz signals can be used for detection as microwave systems according to the spectrum
information and signal reflection.

18
Figure 11: (a) Specular reflection of objects in the microwave frequency band; (b) Diffuse reflection of the same
objects in the visible and infrared bands; (c) Specular reflection and diffuse reflection in the THz band [15]

In comprehensive consideration of the THz application in communication and sensing, the

THz-based communication and sensing integration can be used for active or passive sensing
imaging. The passive imaging technology employs array imaging sensors to capture object images
in an incoherent manner by leveraging the inherent reflection characteristics of the object’s surface.
The active imaging technology extracts distance, Doppler and angle information by emitting
purpose-built detection waveforms as well as analyzing and processing coherent reflection signals.
These two technical solutions fit in a wide range of application scenarios:
 Passive THz communication and sensing integration: At present, although IC-based
thermal radiometers are highly sensitive and technically proven, the way that sensors and
CMOS circuits are designed in results in the high cost of the solution. THz imaging systems
built on integrated CMOS have very high cost advantage
 Active THz communication and sensing integration: The active THz imaging technology
has two distinct applications: active radar and object sensing. The sensing method similar to
that of active radar allows 3D imaging to evolve into 4D imaging, adding Doppler
information to the traditional RGB channel. Active THz communication and sensing systems
can be used for security inspection scanning, smart shopping, gaming and entertainment
applications.
In summary, because of the super-large bandwidth available, THz is a promising technology
for terrestrial, air, and space wireless communication. It supports communication at micro-nano
scale, and has a great potential in the study of communication and sensing integration. Analyzing,
troubleshooting, and solving THz coverage problems to achieve high-speed coverage within a
certain range is of great practical significance to accelerate the evolution and maturity of the THz
technology.

19
3. Core Devices of THz Communication
As the development of mobile communication systems progresses, the communication chip
and device’s industry chain has matured. But for THz band, there are still great challenges in the
design, integration, and manufacturing of many core devices. This is especially true for the RF
part above 300 GHz. For example, 1)how to generate an efficient signal source, 2) how to amplify,
transmit and receive signals, 3) how to effectively realize antenna array and beamforming, are still
in the early R&D stage. It is still a long way to the maturity of large-scale commercial use.
Therefore, there remain many uncertainties in the constraints and impact of the development of
THz RF devices on the final system design. The following describes the current situation,
opportunities and challenges related to THz core devices from the perspectives of signal source,
antenna, and RF system integration.

3.1 THz Signal Source

THz RF signal sources for communications need to be able to generate pure THz continuous
wave stably at room temperature for a long time. High quality signal source is very important for
wireless communication. There are some commercial THz signal source products in
non-communication fields such as security inspection, remote sensing, imaging, and other
applications. But most of the sources are pulse signal sources, or the source efficiency, size or
stability cannot meet the requirements needed for wireless communication systems.

20
 Figure 12: Technology Routes of THz Signal Source [16]

The frequency range that a signal source can output is essentially limited by the maximum
operating frequency of its physical material. Different materials have different device
manufacturing processes, which leads to more dimensional considerations such as cost, integration,
and functional flexibility (whether it is convenient to integrate programmable logic circuits). In
principle, THz signal sources suitable for THz communications can be roughly divided into the
following technical routes: [16][17]
 THz oscillation source is generated based on III-V compound semiconductor
devices such as Schottky diodes. Such devices have been used in 5G millimeter wave RF
system, belong to one of the research hotspots of monolithic microwave integrated circuit
(MMIC). Because III-V materials (such as GaAs and InP) are used as substrate devices, they
have high electron mobility, can produce high-power RF signals, and have a maximum
operating frequency of more than 1THz. They can not only be used as signal source, but also
commonly used to realize amplification and mixing functions. They are powerful candidates
for many key parts of THz RF system. However, most of the current research is still focused
on the millimeter wave band below 300GHz. Even in the frequency band above 100 GHz,
mature products are rarely seen, especially in China.
 THz signals can also be generated by mixing two lasers in a photodiode. This
method usually uses single carrier photodiodes (UTC-PD), which have high bandwidth.
Because the laser frequency is very high, it is very easy to get a frequency difference of
hundreds of GHz to several THz in UTC-PD. However, due to the problem of energy

21
 conversion efficiency, the THz signal power produced by UTC-PD is low, affecting the
system coverage.
 Silicon based integrated circuit THz source. Although the maximum frequency
supported by silicon based semiconductors is below 300GHz, and the efficiency is far lower
than that of III-V semiconductors, today's the CMOS, bipolar cmos process and direct
integration with logic control circuits and the potential of D-band and E-band in 6G
communication is very mature, which is an attractive advantage for them to become terahertz
signal sources. Some studies have proposed using silicon-based CMOS designs to realize
direct chip surface current regulation and radiate THz signal, which is a promising new
implementation method of RF system. The development of silicon-based photonics
integrated chip may also provide some new design ideas of THz system from the perspective
of photoelectric combination.

In summary,at present, the development of THz communication technology is still subject to

high-power signal generation technology and high-sensitivity detection technology, especially
above 300GHz. No matter the III-V transistor, UTC-PD or silicon-based integrated circuit, it is an
inefficient method to produce continuous wave THz signals, and it is difficult to meet the practical
application requirements of wireless communications. In addition, it should be noted that the
frequency and power of signal generation are only the most basic considerations in system design,
and factors such as integration difficulty, programmable control and process cost will have an
important impact on the final technical route selection.

3.2 THz Related Key Devices

Besides THz signal sources, THz communication also faces a variety of challenges in the
design and manufacturing of core devices, chips, and antenna arrays.

3.2.1 THz Power Devices

Millimeter-wave and THz power devices mainly include power amplifiers (PA) and Low
noise amplifiers (LNA). PA and LNA are core power components in millimeter wave and THz
transceiver system. They are widely used in THz security check imaging, THz communication,
THz radar, Radio astronomy and other fields. GaN, GaAs, InP III-V materials with higher electron
mobility and better radiation resistance are the most widely used materials in THz integrated
circuits and other fields (Refer to Table 3-1).

Chip level suppliers of MMW and THz power devices mainly include Teledyne, HRL, ADI,
Macom, Gotmic, Ommic, Fraunhofer, Nanjing Chip Valley, CETC13, CETC55, Xiong'an Taixin,
Milliway, MKR ,etc. MMW and THz PA and LNA module packaging and testing mainly include:
Nanjing Nuozhijie, Shanghai AT microwave, Suzhou TeraHub and so on.

Under the background of international embargo, domestic power devices are strongly
supported by the government. At present, the commercial LNA covers 270 GHz and the PA
frequency covers 230 GHz. In some frequency bands, the performance indicators are equal to or

22
better than those of foreign manufacturers, and have the ability of commercial supply.

As the development of Millimeter-wave and THz application technology progresses, , orders

have surged in the past two years. However, domestic chips have been subject to a series of
problems, such as low modeling accuracy, poor batch consistency and lack of on-chip test system.
Fortunately, it has It solved the problem of the embargo. However, in general, key chips such as
Millimeter-wave and THz PA and LNA, especially in China, can not reach the state of large-scale
commercial, and further research and development and investment are needed.

Table 4: Characteristics of Typical Semiconductor Materials

Material Band Gap Thermal Electron Electron's Saturation Frequency

(Ev) Conductivity Mobility Drift Velocity Range (GHz)
(W/(cm.K)) (cm²/V.s) (*107cm/s)
GaAs 1.42 0.45 5500-7000 2.1 10-300
GaN 3.49 1.3 400-1600 2.5 10-150
InP 1.35 0.68 10000-12000 2.3 50-1100

Figure 13: The 50 to 250 GHz Broadband InP HBT Power Amplifier MMIC Series Released by Teledyne

3.2.2 THz Frequency Converter

Millimeter-wave and THz frequency converting devices mainly include frequency multipliers,
mixers, detectors, nonlinear transmission lines, and Gunn oscillators and so on..
Frequency converting devices in the Millimeter-wave and THz solid-state field are mainly
developed based on the planar Schottky diode. Schottky diodes are high-speed devices based on a
metal semiconductor contact. Due to the high mobility of the majority carriers, they are able to
realize mixing and frequency multiplying at terahertz frequencies for spectrum conversion..
Yuenie Lau (CEO of OML, Since 1991, creatively designing of frequency multiplier, mixer,
frequency converter, etc)、Dr. Thomas W. Crowe (CEO of VDI, designing diodes and etc., now)
and David Porterfield (CEO of MicroHarmonics, designing varactor diode, high-efficiency
high-power frequency multiplier, Gunn oscillator, transceiver system, etc.) are advanced masters
of THz field design. At present, based on planar Schottky diode, it can transmit, receive and
measure frequencies above 3 THz. Many commercial companies in Europe and USA, such as VDI,

23
OML, Teratech, RPG, ACST, and ABmilimeter have mature chip or module products and have
been commercialized, but the price is high and maintenance is difficult.

Anti-parallel diodes for frequency mixing Anti-series diodes for frequency multiplying

Figure 14: A Diode Design

The manufacturing of frequency converting devices mainly includes diode manufacturing,
circuit design, device packaging, testing, etc. In China, Schottky diode manufacturers mainly
include CETC13, CETC55, Sinano and the CAS Institute of Microelectronics. Circuit design,
device packaging and testing manufacturers mainly include the CAS National Space Science
Center, UESTC, CETC41, China Academy of Engineering Physics and so on. Of course, there are
also companies with strong strength and independent design ability. At present, domestic
frequency converters have just broken through 1 THz, and the performance and reliability of this
frequency band are still far from those of mainstream manufacturers in Europe and the USA.
However, domestic producers can still compete below 300 GHz. There is a long way to go before
large-scale commercialization.

3.2.3 General-purpose THz Components and Subsystems

General components and subsystems in Millimeter-wave and THz solid-state field include
power dividers, couplers, filters, duplexers, isolators, circulators, voltage controlled
attenuators, transceiver systems, up and down converters, etc. At present, this field is in the
trend of all flowers blooming together. Many commercial companies in Europe and USA,
such as Micro Harmonics (26-500 GHz isolator, hybrid circulator, voltage controlled
attenuator, etc.), Millitech (18-325Ghz), MiWAVE (18-220GHz), Elva-1, etc., have mature
products.
At present, there are mainly CETC13 ， CETC55 ， CETC41 in China, and the commercial
companies are not mature. However, the current general-purpose components are mainly
concentrated in W-band and below with a few offerings available the high-frequency bands of
Millimeter-wave and THz..
In terms of passive components,
 At present, ferrite devices (subject to magnetic core materials) do not have domestic
manufacturers of isolators / circulators with broadband above 40GHz. At MMW and
THz frequencies. MicroHarmonics is the leader in the industry..
 Directional couplers are subject to high-frequency absorber materials, and there are
few mature domestic manufacturers above 110GHz. Filters, duplexers, power dividers,
etc. above 110GHz are mostly customized. Customized services are mainly provided
by Millitech, Miwv, Elmika, Elva-1, Flann, Eravant, Nanjing Nuozhijie, Shanghai AT
microwave, Suzhou TeraHub, etc.
 Fundamental mixers and sub-harmonic mixers and high order harmonic mixers are
mainly supplied by OML, VDI, Nanjing Nuozhijie, Suzhou Terahub, Shanghai AT

24
 Microwave, etc.
In terms of active components,
 Solid-state noise sources from 50 to 330 GHz are basically dependent on imports.
 Voltage controlled attenuator / programmable attenuator, etc. - at present, there are no
domestic manufacturers that realize truly independent broadband above 40GHz.There
are Millitech, Micro Harmonics, Miwv, Elmika，Flann and so on.
 Transceiver systems, up and down converters - It needs to be customized. It is worth
mentioning that Nanjing Nuozhijie has developed band Q / V / E / W / D / 220 GHz /
300 GHz / 400 GHz/500GHz transceiver systems, up and down converters (the SSB
is 8dB typ). They have been applied to Millimeter-wave and THz radar, imaging
systems, channel simulations, 6G communication prototypes, etc., and supplied to
major domestic scientific research institutes, universities, and enterprises.
 Frequency multipliers are mainly supplied by VDI, OML, RPG, ACST, Teratech,
CETC-13, CETC-41, Nanjing Nuozhijie, Suzhou Terahub, Shanghai AT Microwave,
etc.

3.3 THz Antenna

Transmission line losses are high in the THz band. Therefore, THz communication systems
require unprecedented high gain antennas to compensate for the huge path loss. In both academic
research and practical application, the most commonly used THz antenna is the horn antenna. In
addition to horn antennas, patch and slot antennas, reflector antennas, and lens antennas are
commonly used.
The horn antenna has the advantages of simple structure, good radiation direction, low cross
polarization, broadband operation, and can achieve tens of dB antenna gain. Reflector antennas
and lens antennas comprise a feed antenna and an aperture surface with a focusing function. They
can form directional high gain beams and are mostly used in the field of radio astronomy.
However, these antennas belong to mechanical antennas, which are only suitable for fixed
direction (or with extremely limited adjustable angle) point-to-point communication scenarios.
They have large volumes and are difficult to integrate with signal processing chips.
In a mobile communication scenario, the most ideal THz communication should adopt a
large-scale antenna array similar to millimeter wave. Through the complex feed network, the
antenna array can provide more flexible beam forming and signal gain and is closely combined
with the logic control chip to realize dynamic beam forming. Theoretically, the antenna size of
THz band is smaller than millimeter wave, which is more suitable for large-scale array, but it has
not been realized in practice. This is because, at THz frequencies, the loss of feed networks and
substrate materials will lead to a significant reduction in the radiation efficiency of the antenna. A
basic fact is that at present, only the prototype chip of D-band (110 ~ 170 GHz) is reported in the
world for 5G millimeter wave antenna array, which has not yet reached the scale of commercial
use, and there are no research achievements made in this area in China. However, there are a lot of
technical gaps in how to realize the large-scale electronically controlled THz antenna array above
300GHz, which can be broken through only by combining a large amount of innovative work on
new materials and integration technology. These are great challenges for THz frequency band in

25
6G communication application.
For example, in terms of new materials, carbon nanotube and graphene are hot schemes in
the research of THz array antenna. New materials have advantages in device miniaturization and
large-scale antenna array design, but like THz source, performance is not the only consideration.
In terms of practicability, how to reduce cost and integrate with digital processing chip is a more
important direction of THz antenna design. It is also a simple and feasible implementation scheme
to form an array based on UTC-PD integrated micro antenna. UTC-PD can mixer a laser with a
signal with another CW laser to directly generate a THz RF signal and radiate it through an
integrated antenna. The signal light can propagate through a low loss integrated optical waveguide.
At the same time, it can adjust the gain and delay with a mature optical signal processing method,
so as to avoid the problem of directly operating the feed network in THz band. However, as
mentioned above, the radiated power and sensitivity of UTC-PD as a receiver need to be further
optimized.

In fact, THz antenna array is facing not only the challenge of antenna design, but also the
challenge of the whole RF system integration and signal processing architecture. There are still
many challenges to be solved on the road of large-scale business.

3.4 THz RF System Integration

In the last ten years, THz RF system integration technology has made great progress. This
includes the study of different substrate technologies, such as III – V semiconductors and silicon,
field effect transistor devices and heterojunction bipolar devices, as well as all electron and hybrid
electron photon systems. Although the methods of electronics and photonics often look different,
there is a trend of technology integration in the terahertz frequency range. Many emerging systems
can be classified as photonically excited or optoelectronic hybrid. This trend is essentially in line
with the "More than Moore" development route promoted by the semiconductor industry in the
face of the slowdown of Moore's law [17].
However, there are many other unique systemic challenges in the design of THz RF systems
compared with millimeter wave and lower frequency bands. For example, the traditional RF
antenna can often be designed independently and then connected to other parts of the RF system,
while in the THz band, the antenna and other modules of the RF system cannot even be connected
by cable. If the waveguide is used to build the whole RF link, the size and flexibility of the system
will be unacceptable. In order to reduce the connection loss and reduce the size and cost of RF
system, it is necessary to consider the highly integrated design of antenna array and RF circuit
from the beginning.
The key progress of THz RF system integration may not come from the improvement of a
single device, but from the new multifunctional and reconfigurable architecture. Many traditional
electronic system design methods will be broken. A notable example is that the size of the THz
band antenna becomes smaller, and the signal wavelength can even be smaller than the size of the
chip itself, which makes the on-chip antenna perhaps the most direct solution. The on-chip
antenna can avoid the large loss of external antenna and reduce the challenge of broadband
switching design. Further, each module in the traditional RF link, such as low noise amplifier

26
(LNA), power amplifier, mixer, up converter, detector, modulator, voltage controlled oscillator
(VCO), phase shifter, switch, etc., to be implemented in the integrated chip of THz band. Whether
some traditional RF processing steps in the electrical domain can be replaced by optical
technology is another problem that needs to be evaluated and considered.
In addition, although the high-speed ADC / DAC chip does not belong to the RF circuit, it
will also affect the design of the whole THz system. If the goal of THz communication system is
to achieve hundreds of Gbps to 1Tbps capacity, it is actually close to the capacity of the current
backbone optical fiber transmission system. At present, the high-speed ADC / DAC chip used in
the mainstream high-capacity optical transmission system can support up to 200Gsample/s
sampling rate. However, when the power density is certain, the high quantization accuracy and
high sampling rate of ADC / DAC can be considered as a pair of contradictions. One of the
reasons why commercial high-capacity optical fiber transmission systems always use single
carrier QAM instead of OFDM is that high-speed ADC / DAC chip is difficult to support
quantization accuracy of more than 8bit. For THz systems, the power consumption and
complexity caused by the number of ADC / DAC chips should also be considered when
supporting multi antenna MIMO. Therefore, the comprehensive trade-off of ADC / DAC quantity
(power consumption), quantization accuracy and sampling rate will also become one of the key
design constraints in THz communication systems.
It can be predicted that for THz communication RF systems above 100 GHz and even above
300GHz, hardware technology routes with significant differences may be differentiated for
different application scenarios in the future. For example, according to the different geographical
environment, communication distance, number of users and mobility, the system can make a
trade-off among many factors such as cost, power consumption and size, and choose to use a
certain antenna form and an electric or optical or hybrid RF chip integration scheme.
Compared with the upper system design, the integration of THz bottom core devices and
chips may become the main obstacle to the real large-scale implementation of THz
communication technology. The maturity of related technologies still needs the continuous
promotion of the semiconductor industry from materials, devices, processes, and other aspects, so
as to be expected to reach the maturity of today's millimeter and lower band device market within
five to ten years. This also puts forward higher requirements for communication system designers,
including the need to work closely with the upstream semiconductor industry to accelerate the
iterative innovation and real application of THz related technologies.

27
4.Thoughts on THz Channel Measurement and Modeling
Studies on wireless channel characteristics mainly cover channel measurement, channel
estimation and modeling. The THz wireless frequency band means higher frequency, larger
propagation loss and Doppler effects. For channel measurement, the following special
requirements need to be considered:
 Bandwidth: The main advantage of the THz band is to provide a large bandwidth that meets
the large-capacity transmission requirements in future. The bandwidth required by typical
THz applications varies from several GHz to tens of GHz, so THz channel measurement also
needs to support a measurement bandwidth of tens of GHz.
 Measuring distance: In THz indoor communication applications, the maximum linear
distance between the receiving and transmitting terminals is around 10 meters. However,
considering the single/multiple signal reflections, the channel measurement range
corresponding to the maximum path delay is about 100 meters. For outdoor application
scenarios, the maximum path delay for measurement needs to be extended to several hundred
meters.
 Doppler frequency: In a static/quasi-static scenario, the transmitter and receiver are
stationary. Pedestrians are the typical mobile targets in the channel, who move at a speed
about 5 km/h, corresponding to a Doppler shift of about 1.4 kHz in the 300GHz frequency
band. In certain outdoor application scenarios (such as wireless fronthaul/backhaul), the
target (such as a vehicle) moves faster and will produce a higher Doppler shift.
Based on the new channel characteristics of the above-mentioned THz band and the new
requirements for channel measurement, new thoughts have been put forth on the corresponding
channel measurement technology and channel modeling.

4.1 New Thoughts on THz Channel Measurement Technology

In comparison with the frequency range covered by the 5G channel measurement system, the
measurement of THz/sub-THz wireless channels are facing more technical challenges, including:
higher bandwidth, higher frequency range, larger path loss and support for angle-domain
measurement.

4.1.1 Ultra-broadband Channel Measurement

In a frequency domain channel measurement system, VNA’s frequency sweep range may
exceed tens of GHz, satisfying the THz channel measurement requirements. In a time domain
channel measurement system, either the sliding correlation method or the broadband correlation
method needs to use the broadband’s baseband signal generator to generate stimulus signals at the
transmitting terminal. High-performance arbitrary waveform generators (AWG), such as
Keysight's M8196A broadband arbitrary-waveform generator, support an analog bandwidth of up
to 32 GHz and a sampling frequency of 96 GSa/s, which resolve the problem of generating
broadband stimulus signals.

28
 At the receiving terminal, a sliding correlation system only needs to capture CIR data with a
sampling frequency being only 1/ �of the rate to transmit stimulus signals, with � usually ranging
from hundreds to thousands. It means that a low sampling frequency digitizer will be sufficient. In
a broadband correlation system, a broadband digitizer with a sampling frequency that matches the
bandwidth of the stimulus signal is required. In such a system, a broadband oscilloscope (such as
the Keysight UXR high-performance oscilloscope that provides up to 110 GHz sampling
bandwidth and 256 GSa/s sampling frequency) or a broadband digitizer (such as the Keysight
M8131A that provides up to 12.5 GHz sampling bandwidth and 32 GSa/s sampling frequency) can
be used.
Another issue to be considered is how to store the channel measurement data. In the
VNA-based method and the sliding correlation method, the receiving data rate is not high, a
memory system that requires a data stream transmission rate of several hundred MBps can realize
the gapless storage of data. In the broadband correlation method, the higher receiving data rate
requires a RAID system with ultra-broadband data transmission interfaces. For example, the
Keysight M8131A digitizer has 4 optical digital interfaces (ODI) and can transmit data at a
maximum rate of 640 Gbps, capable of storing the channel measurement data received in a large
disk array system.

4.1.2 THz/Sub-THz Band Channel Measurement

Signal transmitting and receiving in the THz/sub-THz band can be realized by using external
frequency expansion modules, such as an external up-converter connected to the transmitter, an
external down-converter connected to the receiver, or an RF instrument (signal generator, signal
analyzer, oscilloscope, or VNA). As a consequence, a variety of commercial up/down converter
modules from 60 GHz to 1.1 THz can be used to extend the frequency range of a channel
measurement system.

In a frequency domain channel measurement system, a low-frequency cable connects the

VNA port and the up/down converter module to transmit IF signals. An additional LO source is
required to provide the LO signal to the LO signal input port of the up/down converter for LO
signal transmission.

In a time domain channel measurement system, AWG generates IF signals at the transmitting
terminal, sends them to the IF input of the up-converter, and modulates them from IF signals to
THz/sub-THz RF signal. At the receiving terminal, down-converter may be used to convert
THz/sub-THz RF signals back to IF. In a sliding correlation system, IF signals are transmitted to
the sliding correlator to generate time-expanded CIR signals. In a broadband correlation system,
IF signals are directly sampled by a broadband digitizer, and followed by digital down-conversion
and cross-correlation, in order to get the CIR data. Both the transmitting and the receiving
terminal need to be connected to the LO signal, and they need to be frequency synchronized.

4.1.3 Overcoming High Path Loss

29
 According to the Free Space Path Loss (FSPL) equation, the THz/sub-THz wireless channel
produces bigger path loss than the 5G channel. For example, in a distance of 1 m, the FSPL is
about 42 dB at 3 GHz frequency, 62 dB at 30 GHz frequency, or 82dB at 300 GHz frequency. A
channel measurement system needs to consider and overcome the big path loss in order to get
sufficient reception power and dynamic range.

However, in the THz/sub-THz frequency range, the maximum output power of power
amplifiers (PA) and other RF components is much lower than the corresponding RF output power
of the 5G band. Therefore, increasing the transmitter’s transmission power cannot solve the
problem of path loss increase.

A common and effective approach is to use highly directional antennas at the transmitting
and receiving terminals, which provide additional antenna gain to partially compensate the path
loss. Such an approach has certain application value for the time domain and frequency domain
channel detection systems.

The time domain channel measurement system takes another approach to increase the
dynamic range, that is, to use a waveform with a longer sequence length to achieve bigger
correlation gain. For example, a PN sequence with a sequence length of 1023 gets a correlation
gain of about 30 dB from the cross-correlation processing, while a PN sequence with a sequence
length of 16383 gets a correlation gain of more than 42 dB, that is, an additional dynamic
coverage of 12 dB. Obviously, bigger waveform length results in longer sequence measurement
time. However, considering the large bandwidth in the THz/sub-THz channel measurement
(which shortens the symbol time of the stimulus signal), the total stimulus signal time is still
acceptable for channel measurement.

4.1.4 Angle Domain Channel Parameters Measurement

To cope with the larger path loss, communication systems in the THz/Sub-THz band will use
high-gain horn antennas, large antenna arrays, or other highly directional antennas to control the
beam width of transmitters and receivers. Spatial information such as the angle of arrival (AoA)
and the angle of departure (AoD) of channels marks the basic features of the THz/sub-THz
channel, therefore, the angle domain channel measurement is necessary.

Two methods apply in measuring the angle domain information, the Rotating Directional Antenna
(RDA) method and the Uniform Array (UA) method.
 In the RDA method, a directional antenna (such as a horn antenna) is fixed on a
mechanical turntable, and circular scanning in made with a fixed step in the
azimuth/elevation direction. High-gain directional antennas contribute to better dynamic
range measurement with the RDA method; however, because it takes a relative long
time to cover the required scanning range, the RDA method applies to static channels
only. Besides, the angular resolution of the RDA method depends on the beam width of
the directional antenna, which is usually about 10 degrees, hence the angular
measurement resolution is low.

30
  In the UA method, the antenna array can be a uniform physical array or a uniform
virtual array (UVA). Array elements in the UA method are usually omnidirectional or
low-directional antennas, therefore this method cannot benefit from the high antenna
gain as the RDA method. On the other hand, by combining the measurement signals
from multiple array elements, additional measurement gain can be provided according to
the antenna array’s size.
To use a physical array, multiple transmitting/receiving RF channels are required.
Alternatively, a single RF channel can be connected to each array antenna unit via RF switches,
forming a MIMO channel measurement system that has faster measurement speed and higher
angular resolution. However, for a channel measurement system in the THz/sub-THz band, some
implementation issues need to be considered before using a physical array: First, how to connect
the antenna array. A half-wave spacing antenna array in THz/sub-THz is only a few millimeters in
size. For example, in the 300 GHz frequency band, a uniform linear array (ULA) of 4 elements
has a size of 2 mm only if the element spacing is half a wavelength (i.e., 0.5 mm), while antennas
with a waveguide connector are much bigger. Integrating THz RF and antenna circuits makes a
possible solution. However, at present, RF switch modules with a frequency of above 100 GHz are
not commercially available and there are no commercialization cases reported, especially in
China.
The UVA method does not use a physical array. Instead, it uses a single antenna for translational
scanning in the 2D/3D space domain, and forms a virtual antenna array by integrating detection
signals of all scanning positions. The UVA method eliminates the problems of connecting smaller
dimension antenna arrays and not having RF switches available, and leverages larger virtual arrays
to obtain higher angular resolution. On the other hand, the UVA method requires more time to
form a virtual array, which means that it can be used only for measuring static channels as the
RDA method. Therefore, it also faces challenges in terms of accuracy and time.

4.2 THz Channel Estimation and Channel Modeling

With the channel measurement data available, further post-processing is needed to extract the
channel characteristics, including: 1) extracting channel parameters from the CIR data, that is,
channel parameters estimation; 2) analyzing the statistical characteristics of channel parameters
and establishing mathematical/physical models, that is, channel modeling.

4.2.1 Channel Parameters Estimation

A number of transient characteristic parameters of channels can be extracted from the CIR data
measured, including:
 Time domain parameters, such as the power delay profile (PDP) that covers multipath
path delay and path loss
 Space domain parameters, such as the AoA/AoD of each path
 Frequency domain parameters, such as the Doppler shift

There are three commonly seen channel parameters estimation algorithms: estimation based
on beamforming, estimation based on sub-space, and estimation based on maximum likelihood.

31
  Estimation based on beamforming: The basic idea is to control the beam direction of the
transmitting/receiving arrays and measure the signal power, search for the beam direction
corresponding to the maximum signal power, and use it for AoA/AoD estimation. The
output of the beamforming algorithm can be expressed as a linear combination of the
signals received by array sensors. Different beamforming algorithms use different
weighting vectors. Typical beamforming algorithms include the Bartlett algorithm and the
Capon algorithm. Algorithms based on beamforming are simple to implement, but their
performance are relatively low.
 Estimation based on sub-space: This algorithm uses the characteristic structure of the
covariance matrix to estimate the covariance matrix of the received signal. The
subspace-based algorithms commonly seen nowadays include the MUSIC (Multiple
Signal Classification) algorithm, the WSF (Weighted Subspace Fitting) algorithm, the
ESPRIT (Estimation Signal Parameters via Rotation Invariance) algorithm and their
enhancements. Subspace-based algorithms contribute good angular resolution to
AoA/AoD estimation, and some of the enhancements are very useful for coherent signal
estimation. On the downside, in subspace-based algorithms, the number of estimable
paths cannot exceed that of receiver’s array elements.
 Maximum likelihood-based algorithms basically define the likelihood of changes in the
numerology to be estimated (path delay/path loss/AoA/AoD/Doppler), and then search
for the numerology to maximize the likelihood. The search result is the estimation of the
parameters. ML-based joint parameter estimation is fairly accurate, and the number of
recognizable paths is not limited by the number of antennas. Because multi-dimensional
parameter search is required for the maximum likelihood estimation, ML-based
algorithms require more time for computation. Among the various ML-based algorithms,
the Spatial Alternate Generalized Expectation (SAGE) Maximization algorithm
effectively reduces the computational complexity and is one of the most popular channel
estimation algorithms at present.

4.2.2 Channel Modeling

Wireless channels have large-scale characteristics (such as path loss and shadow fading) and
small-scale characteristics (such as multi-path). In general, there are three types of channel models:
deterministic channel model, stochastic channel model, and semi-deterministic channel model.

 Deterministic channel models determine channel characteristics according to the physical

behavior of electromagnetic wave propagation, which include the measurement-based model,
the ray tracing model, and the finite difference time domain (FDTD)-based model.
Deterministic channel models can accurately describe channel characteristics, but they
require a large amount of computation and are hence fairly complicated.
 Stochastic channel models extract a mathematical model based on the channel parameters
estimation, can provide relatively simplified and flexible channel characterization with lower
complexity and accuracy. Stochastic channel models include the geometry-based channel
model (GBCM), the correlation-based channel model (CBCM) and the beam domain channel
model (BDCM), each having a different modeling method.

32
 Semi-deterministic models, also referred to as hybrid channel models, can be considered as a
combination of the two model types in the above, which not only simplify the physical
behavior of electromagnetic waves, but also take the statistical channel characteristics in the
model into consideration. Semi-deterministic models have well balanced complexity and
modeling accuracy, and established some standardized channel models, such as the WINNER
model and the SCM/SCME model.

Amongst the various THz channel modeling methods, deterministic channel models may be
more suitable for link level simulation because of the high accuracy; while stochastic channel
models and semi-deterministic channel models are more suitable for system level simulation
because of the low computation cost. The high frequency and large transmission bandwidth of
THz communication will cause non-stationarity in the frequency domain of channels. Due to the
large path loss, large/ultra-large antenna arrays are usually used at the transmitting and receiving
terminals, resulting in non-stationarity in the space domain of channels. The mobility of
transmitting and receiving devices will cause non-stationarity in the time domain of channels. At
present, relevant organizations are making helpful explorations on the measurement and modeling
of THz frequency channels. For example, the THz Wireless Communication Laboratory of
Shanghai Jiao Tong University reviewed the studies on THz wireless channels in collaboration
with the Technical University of Braunschweig and the University of Southern California [25].
First of all, the article introduced and compared three commonly used THz channel measurement
methods at present, the vector network analyzer-based frequency domain channel measurement,
the sliding-correlation-based time domain channel measurement, and the THz time domain
spectrometer-based time domain channel measurement, and discussed the measurement activities
corresponding to the three methods. Secondly, present channel modeling methods are divided into
deterministic, stochastic, and hybrid categories. The article captured the most advanced THz
channel models at present, and introduced the channel simulators developed based on such
channel models. It also elaborated and analyzed the channel characteristics of the THz band. At
the end, the article outlined the issues existing in the research of 6G THz wireless channels as well
as future research interests. Specific THz channel modeling theories and practical methods are yet
to be further explored.

33
5.Key Technologies and Challenges of THz Communication

Core components of THz systems, such as power amplifiers, suffer chip non-linearity, I/Q
imbalance, and phase noise. These unwanted characteristics have a great impact on the design and
optimization of the system solution and pose a challenge to the realization of target performances.
The current 3GPP standards mainly talk about design issues of systems below 71 GHz. Therefore,
new thoughts, designs and studies are required to develop key technologies for the THz band.

THz communication needs to deal with ultra-large bandwidth and ultra-high-speed data
transmission, and deal with problems such as extremely high path loss, serious time broadening
effects, frequency spectrum window changes, large delay propagation, frequent synchronization
processes, carrier frequency offset and serious phase noise, etc., should be addressed
Characteristics, need to redesign the THz waveform, modulation and coding, synchronization and
other OTA technologies, adopt Ultra Massive MIMO (UM-MIMO) technology to achieve high
directional beams to overcome attenuation, and achieve THz through technologies such as beam
control and mobility management The network layer control of the system expands the
combination of THz technology and IRS, and supports the integrated network of sensory
communication. In terms of THz system design and key technology research, 5G system design
and the physical layer technology should be comprehensively considered, so that the application
and corresponding enhancement of the future 6G THz system design are implemented.

5.1 New OTA Technologies

Being a critical assurance for the performance of THz communication systems, new OTA
technologies mainly include modulation and coding, waveform design, multi-antenna, key
parameter selection for the physical layer, and so on.

5.1.1 Modulation and Coding Technology

Modulation mode plays a significant role in THz communication, and helps improve
frequency spectrum efficiency and data rate. When rethinking the THz modulation and coding
technology, a number of factors including system performance, complexity, power consumption,
and non-linear effects of devices should be comprehensively considered based on the 5G
modulation and coding technology and the channel characteristics of the THz band.

The THz modulation technology should focus on the design of low PAPR modulation codes,
in order to avoid the THz PA efficiency reduction and the high-level distortion in the saturation
region. The unwanted noises of local oscillators and active devices as well as the phase noise due
to device damage shall be effectively dealt with. Although traditional modulation schemes can be
used in THz systems, they cannot take full advantage of the THz band characteristics. Channel
distance and frequency-dependent characteristics have accelerated the development of new
modulation schemes in the THz band. In traditional wireless communication systems, the

34
modulation scheme is determined according to the worst case (SNR of receiver at the far end).
Similarly, the bandwidth is also defined by the available bandwidth of the receiver at the far end.
Because the available bandwidth in the THz band changes with the distance, such a modulation
scheme is inefficient in the aspect of the higher bandwidth available for receivers in a closer range.
In addition, molecular absorption defines multiple transmission windows at a certain distance. As
the distance increases, the absorption peak becomes stronger and wider, causing the transmission
window to shrink correspondingly. Therefore, how to define and effectively utilize the available
bandwidth of each user is a key concern. A potential thought is to use distance information for
adaptive modulation, and maximize the user data rate by optimizing the bandwidth and power of
sub-band and the modulation order. For multiple users, the interaction between the user-base
station distance and the bandwidth mapping information, such as the distance-bandwidth mapping
table, should be considered. Hierarchical bandwidth and spatial modulation should be employed to
deal with THz channels with distance characteristics. For example, within a short distance where
the available bandwidth is large and the path loss is low, the symbol duration can be shorter than
that over a longer distance.

Besides, the THz modulation technology also considers low-order modulation methods with
low envelope changes such as π/4 QPSK, and use linear amplitude phase shift keying (APSK) and
other modulation methods that are less sensitive to nonlinear phase distortion to resist PA’s
nonlinear phase distortion. Denser phase noise mapping should be leveraged to deal with the
phase noise and reduce inter-carrier interference (ICI), and the resistance of silent transmission to
molecular absorption should be analyzed. Low-order modulation methods impair system
performance, which need to be employed in combination with space multiplexing and other
relevant technologies to reach the target Tbps transmission rate for 6G. With regard to the coding
technology, the THz multi-molecule absorption noise and multi-path fading need to be thoroughly
analyzed, and the coding/decoding capabilities as well as time resource requirements need to be
rationally designed, so that the optimal coding weight is determined and dynamically set
according to the transmission conditions to minimize the overall transmission and decoding power
consumption.

Of course, for the sub-THz spectrum below 500 GHz, the impact of molecular absorption on
the transmission window should be analyzed based on the thorough exploration of its channel
characteristics. The impact of transmission range on the available bandwidth should also be
carefully evaluated, and an optimal modulation and link optimization strategy should be selected
in consideration of the support from relevant key chips (such as ADC), so as to increase system
capacity while ensuring a reasonable coverage.

5.1.2 Waveform Design

In the research of the THz physical layer, waveform design is one of the most critical
contents. Due to the THz band characteristics and the non-ideality of key devices, efficiency,
power consumption and complexity should be considered in waveform design, and key devices
should be maintained in proper working condition, so that system coverage is ensured and

35
optimized.

5.1.2.1 Waveform Design Strategy

Although THz boasts a wealth of frequency spectrum resources, the uniqueness of THz
wave propagation as well as equipment, devices and chips pose severe challenges in system
design, especially waveform design. On the one hand, an optimized adaptive THz waveform
strategy should be developed with respect to the specific THz communication channel
characteristics. The modulation scheme should be optimized and integrated to the base band
waveform design, in order to identify the most suitable spectrum. On the other hand, because the
system operates at a higher frequency, the unwanted characteristics of the transceiver hardware
and the consequences will increase drastically. When it comes to the THz band, the waveform
design strategy is more susceptible to transceiver’s characteristics, which needs to take the
following channel characteristics, device influences and so on into consideration: [26][27][28][29]
 First, in comparison with those in a lower frequency band, FSPL of electromagnetic waves in
the THz band is much higher (increasing by quartic times with the frequency). In this case,
directional antenna systems can provide higher antenna array gain and compensate for the
great path loss. Therefore, as the width of beam directed at the communication receiver
decreases, the delay spread decreases while the coherence bandwidth increases.
 Second, the THz band is subject to severe reflection and scattering, which causes a
significant reduction in the quantity of main paths. Due to high penetration loss, THz
electromagnetic waves are almost incapable of penetrating obstacles, which puts a limit to the
range of THz communication, especially in indoor scenarios and building-intensive outdoor
environment. Therefore, the energy of THz signals received may be concentrated in the LoS
path and several specular reflection paths, reducing the root mean square (RMS) delay spread.
For example, at a transmission distance of 3 m and a center frequency of 0.7 THz, the
coherent bandwidth of multipath propagation may reach 3.87 GHz. This may pose a major
impact on the selection of THz waveforms.
 Third, atmospheric effects may impair the THz wave propagation and result in molecular
absorption. Such an impact is more significant at certain THz frequencies and less obvious at
lower frequency bands. Because of molecular absorption peaks, the THz band is divided into
several THz windows of different widths according to the transmission range. An adaptive
modulation scheme is hence required to extend the transmission range or maximize the data
rate. Current waveform technologies do not support such a range-adaptive modulation
scheme.
 Fourth, the THz system has a large bandwidth, with the ultra-broadband width of a single
spectrum window going up to several GHz or even tens of GHz. If the current narrow-band
system design strategy is considered, a huge number of sub-bands will be required, leading to
a highly complicated system design. Dividing each frequency spectrum window into a group
of sub-windows makes multi-broadband transmission possible. In this circumstance,
inter-symbol interference, inter-band interference, and so on in multi-band systems need to be
studied.
 Finally, the highly cohesive connectivity and diversified applications require the THz
waveform design to be more flexible, so that the various requirements of application services

36
 are addressed, including but not limited to communication and sensing. As a result, the
hybrid design of several different waveforms will become a possible trend of future systems.
In conclusion, the THz channel characteristics mentioned above should be leveraged in the
THz waveform design process to rationally design and select a waveform technology for the
physical layer. The design objective is to improve the various key performance indicators of the
communication system, including effectiveness and reliability, data rate, and bit error rate (BER).
Adding to that, spectrum efficiency, latency, and connectivity are also critical indicators of the
next-generation wireless systems, which need to be considered in the THz waveform design.
The complexity of wireless communication transceivers continues to grow, carrier
frequency is getting increasingly higher, the overall system performance becomes more sensitive
to the unwanted characteristics of the RF analog front end. In particular, the waveforms supported
by transceivers in the THz band, PA efficiency, phase noise (PN) robustness, power leakage and
other performance indicators are to be considered. PA’s saturation characteristics may result in
non-linear distortion at the output when the input is too big (much bigger than the nominal value).
When the maximum output power is constrained by the saturated power ���� , the input power
will fall back, so that operation is maintained in the linear region. PA’s average output power is
� dBm = ���� [dBm] − ��� [dB] , where ��� represents the PA fallback power. The bigger
fallback generated from PA’s peak power will result in low transmitting power and low power
efficiency, which can be calculated with the ratio of transmitting power to PA power consumption
[30]. In general, such a fallback is proportional to the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the
signal transmitted. In order to maximize the transmitting power and power efficiency of the
transmitter, power fallback must be lowered by reducing the PAPR. As shown in Figure 15, with
the increase of the carrier frequency, the saturated output power decreases rapidly. For example,
saturated power in the 100 GHz frequency band is at least 10 dB lower than that in the 10 GHz
frequency band [31]. Transmitter’s PA efficiency is more sensitive to PAPR. As a consequence,
future THz communication systems should consider waveform technologies with a lower PAPR to
provide higher coverage and improve the effectiveness of THz communication systems.

Figure 15: PA’s Saturated Output Power vs Carrier Frequency [31]

When complex base band signals are up-converted to RF transmitter’s carrier frequency
and pass-band signals are down-converted to receiver’s base band signal, there is phase noise (PN)
in the local oscillator (LO). PN leads to random phase rotation in time domain signals, hence
inter-carrier interference (ICI) in the frequency domain. For every single increase in carrier

37
frequency, PN increases by 6 dB. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the influence of PN
distortion when designing THz waveforms.
As mentioned above, out-of-band power leakage is another critical consideration in THz
waveform design. Larger out-of-band power will result in adjacent channel interference (ACI). In
this circumstance, a guard band is needed to minimize the ACI impact. But this will lead to a
lower spectrum efficiency and needs to be comprehensively thought about.

5.1.2.2 THz Waveform Design

For carrier-based modulation in digital communication, two concepts dominate the

waveform design and application: single-carrier waveform and multi-carrier waveform. With low
PAPR and high power efficiency, single-carrier waveforms are suitable for scenarios with limited
coverage, so as to compensate for the high transmission loss. Multi-carrier waveforms can provide
high spectrum efficiency, support flexible resource allocation in the frequency domain, and can be
easily integrated into the multi-antenna technology. In a single-carrier communication system, the
transmission symbol is sent based on the pulse by the transmission filter at the transmitting end.
However, the equalizer’s high complexity is a notable issue, because ICI increases as the data rate
increases. For multi-carrier waveforms, the most popular technology at present is the orthogonal
frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation scheme used in the 5G NR downlink (DL).
Such a technology can achieve higher spectral efficiency for time-invariant frequency selective
channels, but it will produce high PAPR. For single-carrier waveforms, the discrete Fourier
transform spread spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) used in 5G NR up-link (UL), the single-carrier
frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) and other techniques have certain or potential prospects
in the THz down-link. In comparison with the traditional down-link multi-carrier OFDM
technique, the single-carrier scheme has certain advantages in the aspect of PAPR and etc.
Therefore, the advantages of single-carrier and multi-carrier techniques in all aspects should be
comprehensively considered, and the THz channel characteristics and requirements should be
combined to ultimately design and determine the key technology suitable for the THz band.
OFDM features high spectral efficiency and can effectively resist frequency selective
fading. Such key advantages are vital for meeting the high-speed data transmission requirements.
This waveform technology can be widely used in 5G NR down-link systems, and has been
verified by practical applications. Therefore, when analyzing and designing the THz waveform
technology, OFDM’s application prospects should be prioritized. The major advantages of OFDM
waveform technology in wireless communication systems can be summarized as follows:
 For a given channel delay spread, OFDM introduces the cyclic prefix (CP) to avoid
intersymbol interference (ISI) and uses a frequency domain equalizer to transmit large
bandwidth signals on wireless channels. The design of an OFDM receiver is far simpler than
a single carrier system with a time domain equalizer.
 The data rate of each sub-carrier can be adjusted according to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
of a sub-carrier to significantly improve channel capacity, which is also known as the water
filling algorithm of frequency domain link adaptation.
In addition to these advantages, the application of OFDM in the THz band is encountered
with many challenges, including high PAPR, robustness against phase noise (PN), out-of-band
leakage and complexity of implementation. Given that the antenna/beam directionality increases

38
and the number of LOS paths decreases in the THz band, the coherence bandwidth of the THz
channel is large. In most cases, the THz channel is flat, so there is little significance to select
channel robustness for the OFDM frequency. Another possible way to overcome multi-path effects
is to employ the SC-FDE waveform with CP. SC-FDE has the same performance trend as OFDM
in nature and can solve the problems of ISI and frequency selectivity through FDE and DFT/IDFT.
Figure 16 shows the results of performance (symbol error rate (SER)) analysis for SC-FDE and
OFDM in different channel scenarios in the 300 GHz frequency band. It is clear that SC-FDE and
OFDM have similar SERs in the AWGN channel, while in a sparse multipath environment (one
LOS plus three reflection paths), the SER of SC-FDE is lower than OFDM when the SNR is
greater than 8 dB. Therefore, OFDM has little advantage over SC-FDE in terms of robustness of
frequency domain selectivity in the THz band. Moreover, OFDM is subject to the limitations and
constraints of hardware, which further affects its application in high-frequency bands.

Figure 16: Symbol Error Rate (SER) Comparison Between OFDM and SC-FDE

In addition, as the important single carrier waveform technology, DFT-s-OFDM can better
serve multi-user scenarios based on further optimization of SC-FDE. It is currently applied in the
up-link transmission of 5G NR and can be considered one of the alternative THz waveform
technologies. This technology boasts a lower PAPR, ensuring relevant devices work in a better
state. Figure 17 compares the performance of OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM in terms of PAPR. It is
obvious that the single-carrier technology excels the conventional multi-carrier technology in
PAPR.

39
 Figure 17: Sub-Carrier (1024), Data Block Size (256), Oversampling Factor (4). PAPR Comparison Between
DFT-s- OFDM and OFDM.

Besides traditional OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM, SC-FDE, some other alternatives have also been
discussed in the 4G and 5G standardization, including OTFS, UW-DFT-s-OFDM, and
DFT-s-OTFS jointly proposed by Nokia Shanghai Bell and Shanghai Jiao Tong University [32].
Of the aforementioned technologies, OTFS shows remarkable advantages over OFDM in channel
environments with large Doppler shift, such as higher spectral efficiency and lower block error
rate (BLER). UW-DFT-s-OFDM is a flexible guard interval (FGI) solution derived from
DFT-s-OFDM in response to the considerable return loss and short delay spread of the THz
channel. It helps reduce cyclic prefix overhead and improve resource utilization to increase the
data transmission rate. As regards DFT-s-OTFS, it further reduces its PAPR while maintaining the
advantages of OTFS. It can be applied to address the impact of Doppler shift due to frequency
increase and keep vital high-frequency devices working in optimal condition. Hence, it is also
seen as an alternative in the studies of THz waveforms. Nokia Shanghai Bell and Shanghai Jiao
Tong University have evaluated various potential waveform technologies from distinct
perspectives such as PAPR, out-of-band leakage and BER. The preliminary assessment results are
shown in Figures 16-19. Further discussion, determination and optimization of waveform
technologies applicable to the THz band will derive from these results.

40
 Figure 18: PAPR Comparison Between OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM, UW-DFT-s-OFDM, SC-FDE, OTFS and
DFT-s-OTFS

Figure 19: BER Comparison Between OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM, UW-DFT-s-OFDM, SC-FDE, OTFS and
DFT-s-OTFS in Case of Doppler Shift

To sum up, with respect to efficiency, PAPR, channel robustness, complexity, and hardware
limitations and constraints, the application of OFDM in the THz band still necessitates further
research and analysis, whereas single-carrier-based waveform technologies are promising.
Therefore, when considering the waveform technology for the THz band, the existing
single-carrier waveform technologies can be analyzed and optimized or new technology can be
designed to maximize the advantages of the THz band and satisfy the large-capacity requirements
in the 6G era with reasonable coverage. In addition, more detailed and comprehensive evaluation
of link-level or even system-level simulation is required. Certainly, multi-carrier technologies
need to be included at the present stage, and further analysis and evaluation are necessary.

5.1.2.3 Physical Layer Numerology Design

 Basic definition
The design of physical layer numerology is an important system design and standardization
work of 6G. The main purpose is to determine and optimize the set of a series of basic physical

41
layer parameters of the communication system designed based on waveforms, including
sub-carrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, TTI duration, system bandwidth, etc.

Figure 20: "Numerology" Defined in Communication System [1]

Although the THz physical layer waveform technology has not yet been finalized, relevant
strategic principles and constraints can be studied and considered during the research of 6G
numerology to better guide 6G-related standardization in the future. In the first place, the
influence of numerology in the 5G NR era over the 6G system and the value thereof that is worth
referencing need to be studied and analyzed to facilitate the efficient transmission in the THz band.
To this end, Nokia Bell Labs has carried out preliminary research and analysis, and proposed the
means of optimizing the key parameter design for the physical layer of the THz communication
system based on the settings of physical layer numerology of 5G NR [35]. The studies have
analyzed potential waveform technologies and numerology design from the perspectives of PN
robustness, system performance and more. Relevant performance evaluation results are also given
under the condition of 90 GHz carrier frequency. Considering the large coherent bandwidth of
THz, it is important to adopt higher SCS to improve and support high system throughput, but this
requires lots of modifications to the physical layer design in order to address the challenges of
shorter scheduling cycles and possible poorer coverage of control channel. In addition to
waveform design, the design of phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) can also be optimized to
cope with the influence of significant phase noise (PN) of the THz communication system,
including optimization pertaining to the time domain and/or frequency domain to enable more
advanced transmission and 6G~Tbps transmission capacity. Figure 21 shows the system
performance under different SGS circumstances.

42
 Figure 21: Link-Level Performance When Phase Noise Exists: a) OFDM and b) SC-FDMA use Rel-15 compliant
PTRS; c) OFDM and d) SC-FDMA use enhanced PTRS structures, 90 GHz carrier, rank-2

SCS (Sub-carrying space) designing is one of the key parameters of physical layer
numerology and exerts a great influence on the THz communication system design. Improved
SCS design is crucial for solving the problem of Doppler shift influence due to frequency increase,
reducing system signaling load, and optimizing system design. It requires further research and
analysis according to the physical layer waveform technology and characteristics of the THz
channel. If the waveform technology based on OFDM and its variants is to be adopted for the
future THz system, the following principles should be considered for the design and optimization
of SCS:
 6G services require the THz band of a wide range and a large coherence bandwidth with
the way of deployment varies. Thereby, it is necessary to design a flexibly extensible SCS.
For example, the sub-carrier spacing of 5G NR is 15 × 2� ���. On the basis of the
standard 15 KHz sub-carrier spacing, larger sub-carrier spacing should be designed given
the greater coherence bandwidth of THz to provide users with services containing strict
requirements for time delay, such as URLLC services.
 The design of scheduling and reference signals should be simplified. Sub-carrier spacing
is inversely proportional to OFDM symbol duration. In all the numerologies of 5G, the
"OFDM symbol quantity/time slot" parameter in all the numerologies should be set to 14,
simplifying the design of scheduling and reference signals. The time slot shortens as the
sub-carrier spacing increases.

43
  Channel bandwidth should be diverse. The maximum number of OFDM FFT samples and
sub-carrier spacing determine channel bandwidth. Numerologies of large sub-carrier
spacing require a greater signal bandwidth, and vice versa for those of small sub-carrier
spacing. For example, the frequency band used by the 5G NR can be roughly divided into
two segments: 1) frequency band less than 6 GHz: 450 MHz-6 GHz; 2) millimeter wave
(mmWave: approximately 24 GHz-52 GHz). R17 has already begun the discussion of 52
GHz-72 GHz). Numerologies with the sub-carrier spacing being15 kHz and 30 kHz are
used in the sub 6 GHz band and the maximum bandwidth is 100 MHz. Numerologies
with the sub-carrier spacing exceeding 120 kHz are used in the mmWave band and the
maximum bandwidth is 400 MHz. Both of the frequency bands are applicable to
numerologies with 60 kHz sub-carrier spacing. Moreover, 3GPP is able to support
sub-carrier spacing up to 120 kHz to enable larger bandwidth and frequency bands. In the
future THz system, the bandwidth available will be considerably more and SCS will
increase further in accordance with the condition of coherence bandwidth. Hence, the
application of 480 K, 960 K, 1.92 M or greater SCS can be considered and analyzed in
the THz system.
 The upper and lower limits of SCS parameters should be studied and analyzed based on
the characteristics of the THz channel. It is expected that the smaller the sub-carrier
spacing, the more efficient the transmission performance. However, if the spacing is too
small, phase noise tends to be triggered, to get rid of which will impose higher
requirements on the local crystal oscillator. As a result, the performance is susceptible to
the interference of Doppler frequency offset and a large signaling load is caused.
Nevertheless, if the spacing is set too large, CP duration will be shorter and delay spread
cannot be eliminated. CP duration (or channel delay spread) determines the maximum of
sub-carrier spacing. Therefore, it is necessary to design the appropriate SCS range based
on THz channel characteristics, such as sparse channel characteristics, delay spread,
coherence bandwidth and other factors. With this as the foundation, SCS can be designed
and optimized in various application scenarios.

Certainly, if OFDM or relevant waveform technologies are not adopted for the future THz
communication system, the aforementioned principles need to be subject to the specific waveform
technology.
In general, the numerology design in the THz communication system needs to enable
flexibility and scalability to support the differential requirements of various application scenarios
and the requirements of a large number of continuous or discrete operating frequency bands. It
should be determined based on the specific waveform technology in standard discussion and
development. The basic principles though are similar to the numerology design principles of the
traditional communication system, as shown in the following figure.

44
 Figure 22: Major Design Principles/Methods of "Numerology" in Traditional Communication System [34]

5.1.3 Synchronization
Synchronization is a formidable challenge in the ultra-wideband (sub-) THz communication
network, because it is difficult to sample signals at the Nyquist rate while executing complex
signal processing tasks at the Tbps data rate. In addition, users have independent local oscillators
to generate carrier frequencies, resulting in a large frequency offset of the device as a whole.
In synchronization design, pulse-based modulation and ON-OFF switch control modulation
for channel access can be considered regarding nano-networks. Since a robust and accurate
synchronization mechanism is required for longer communication distances, time and frequency
domain synchronization can be considered. Special attention should be paid to reducing the
collection time of receivers for fast receipt and synchronization. Multi-path effects and channel
sparsity need to be analyzed to design new synchronization algorithms, and jointly design and
optimize waveform, modulation and synchronization to enable more effective use of bandwidth
resources in the THz band.

5.2 Advanced multiple-antenna Technology

The power limitation and high attenuation of the THz transceiver lead to a significant
reduction in the communication distance. The introduction of Ultra Massive MIMO (UM-MIMO)
plays a key role in ensuring reasonable coverage while improving the capacity of the THz
communication system.

5.2.1 Phased Array Antenna Architecture

The high frequency of THz makes it possible to develop UM-MIMO in a very small area
while also bringing higher requirements for hardware design. At present, a feasible solution for

45
phased array antenna architecture is to increase the number of antenna components and
dynamically control arrays using new plasma materials. Plasma materials support surface plasmon
polaritons (SPP) transmission and make adjustable the resonant frequency of graphene-based
plasma antennas by dynamic adjustment of limiting factors. Apart from that, conventional
meta-materials and communication networks can be combined to dynamically control the
performance of meta-materials, effectively change the dielectric constant of meta-materials and
modify the limiting factor in real time [36].
By dynamically adapting to and adjusting the amplitude and time/delay/phase of the signal of
each antenna, different UM-MIMO operating modes such as beamforming, spatial multiplexing
and multi-band UM-MIMO can be realized. The communication distance is greatly reduced due to
the THz transceiver's power limitation and considerable path loss. UM-MIMO can thereby be
brought in to sustain flexible highly directional beam, improve the signal-to-noise ratio gain of
signals and increase the communication distance. By doing so, the rich bandwidth resources in the
THz band are effectively utilized to achieve a communication network capacity of more than
Terabits per second.
With regarding to UM-MIMO, a feasible solution is to transmit data using an analog/digital
hybrid structure. It combines the beamforming of the analog domain and the digital domain and
can flexibly adjust the number of RF channels to bring about a balance between the hardware cost
and the number of data streams available. In the analog domain, it uses the phase shifter network
to obtain sufficient antenna array gain on each RF channel to solve the formidable problem of
small THz band coverage. Multiple RF channels further realize flexible frequency selective
scheduling and base band precoding of several data streams in the digital domain to achieve
spatial multiplexing gain, thus greatly improving the data throughput of the system. The hybrid
beamforming technology provides an effective solution for the 6G THz communication system in
the future.
In the hybrid beamforming structure, the analog domain generally adopts two architecture
types, namely fully-connected and sub-array architecture, as shown in Figure 23 and Figure 24. In
the fully-connected architecture of hybrid beamforming (Figure 23), each RF channel is connected
to all the antenna units through the phase shifter network, and each antenna unit is connected to all
the RF channels. In the sub-array architecture (Figure 24), however, each RF channel is mapped to
all the antenna units of a sub-array through the phase shifter network, and each antenna unit is
only connected to one RF channel. The fully-connected architecture forms a narrower directional
beam, allowing for approximately complete array gain, while the sub-array architecture forms a
wider directional beam with lower array gain, so the fully-connected architecture can bring about
better coverage and system performance in the THz band. From another point of view, the
hardware of the two architectures differs in complexity. For the fully-connected architecture, each
RF channel needs to be connected to all antenna units through phase shifters and RF power
synthesizers, and the number of phase shifters required is equal to the product of the number of
antennas and RF channels. On the other hand, the sub-array architecture only requires phase
shifters equivalent to the number of antennas and no RF power synthesizer is needed. Therefore,
the implementation of the fully-connected architecture is complex and costs more as it requires
more hardware devices, so it is challenging with respect to the design, production and control of
the array as a whole.

46
 Figure 23: Fully-Connected Architecture of Hybrid Beamforming

Figure 24: Sub-array Architecture of Hybrid Beamforming

Based on the design principles of the two architectures, a hybrid beamforming solution with
hierarchical generalized architecture is proposed in study [37], as shown in Figure 25. This
solution divides the phase shift network of hybrid beamforming into L layers, with each layer
adopting fully-connected phase shift sub-networks, including � �RF channels and � �antenna
units. If � = 1 , the solution turns into a fully-connected architecture (Figure 23); if � = � , it
functions as a sub-array architecture. Hence, the two existing architectures can be regarded as
special cases of hierarchical generalized architecture. The hierarchical generalized concept not
only integrates multiple hybrid beamforming architectures, but also elastically brings about the
balance between the coverage and complexity of the THz system by adjusting the number of
layers of the phase shift network.

47
 Figure 25: Hierarchical Generalized Architecture of Hybrid Beamforming

Certainly, multiple architecture designs of hybrid beamforming have been proposed by

academia ([38] and [39]). Different architectures determine the algorithm design, implementation
and performance of beamforming, but all of them are encountered with challenges. For example,
the non-idealities of RF devices in the THz band will be more sensitive, including the resolution
of analog weighting, I/Q unbalance, noise floor of devices, etc. Also, channel estimation remains a
major problem in analog and digital precoding design. All these issues need to be further studied
by academia and the industry.
In addition, research has shown that as the THz communication system abounds in
bandwidth resources, the multi-path components are divided into completely unrelated spatial
directions under the condition of different carrier frequencies, resulting in serious offsets of the
analog beam in differential carrier frequencies, which significantly reduces the array gain and
affects the system performance. Several research teams, including Nokia Shanghai Bell and
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, have studied this issue and proposed relevant solutions ([40] and
[41]). However, in the lower frequency band of THz communication such as the sub-THz band,
problems like whether the beam offset is urgent and imposes a great impact on performance still
require further observation and research in order to lay the foundation for the future application of
the 6G THz communication system.

5.2.2 Beam Tracking

In the UM-MIMO beamforming, a great number of antennas are integrated into small-scale
arrays and all antennas are fed with the same signal, which points the narrow beam with high gain
to the strongest propagation path, offsetting the extremely high path attenuation and extending the
propagation distance. However, the consequence of narrowed beam is that the beam pointing error
is easy to occur. To ensure the robustness of THz communication, it is necessary to ensure that
users are always within the coverage of the narrow beam. The beam should be quickly recovered

48
once offsets occur. The research related to beam management of the entire THz system needs to
include the following three aspects:

 Beam training: Misalignment of the beams at the transmitting and receiving ends will reduce
the strength of the received signal and increase the interference between beams, undermining
system performance. The process of matching the beams at the transmitting and receiving
ends with the channel by designing the pilot frequency sequence, precoding matrixes and
merging matrixes is defined as beam training. The implementation of it includes training
based on subset optimization, compression sensing (using spatial clustering of multi-channel
THz path to reduce beam training overhead), and training based on deep learning (data
driven/data-model driven). In addition, beam training between multiple targets is also an
important direction of research, such as the scenarios of multiple base stations and a single
UE, multiple UEs and a single base station, multiple base stations and multiple UEs. Flexible
beam alignment strategies such as minimum training time, maximum combined signal
strength and maximum signal-to-interference plus noise ratio of combined signal can be
achieved by designing different beam training objectives.
 Beam tracking: Due to the movement of an end user or the change of the channel
environment, the originally aligned transmitting and receiving beam pair may deviate and
needs to be tracked in real time tracked to recapture the aligned transmitting and receiving
beam pair. The implementation solutions include channel tracking, prior auxiliary beam
tracking and AI auxiliary beam tracking (prediction).
 Beam recovery: If beam tracking fails to capture the accurate beam pair and leads to
communication interruption, beam recovery is required to gain reliable communication again.
The implementation solutions include base station cooperation (block prediction and
handover), beam cooperation (synergy of beam pairs).

5.2.3 Spatial Multiplexing

In UM-MIMO spatial multiplexing, a considerably large antenna array can be partitioned to
support multiple beams with broader and lower gains in different directions using spatial
multiplexing. The specific implementation method is to divide UM-MIMO into sub-arrays, and
the trade-off between the number of sub-arrays, the number of antenna units and the constellation
diagram can achieve different transmission objectives. In short-distance communication, spatial
multiplexing between antenna units is more favorable while in long-distance transmission, the
number of sub-arrays should be configured according to the actual requirements. The use of
spatial THz channel may result in multiple unrelated propagation and spatial multiplexing can
improve user's data rate.
Given that the THz spectrum window changes with the transmission distance, UM-MIMO
can be divided into multiple sub-arrays in a virtual manner and the conductivity of each sub-array
can be adjusted for operation at different center frequencies. The intensive arrangement feature of
the THz antenna array should be fully utilized, with the antenna spacing reasonably designed to
adapt to the specific propagation frequency and the virtual sub-arrays having different frequencies
created, so as to enhance the spatial multiplexing gain of the THz band.
Generally speaking, the main objective of the MIMO technology in the THz band is to enable

49
Tbps-level system capacity to meet the large capacity requirements of the 6G era and meanwhile
ensure reasonable coverage. A reasonable and feasible solution needs to be formulated on the basis
of antenna architecture, beam assignment solutions and more, taking into account factors such as
system performance, energy consumption, complexity and chip/device maturity.

5.3 THz-Related Network Layer Technology

For communication systems operating in the THz band, the neighbor discovery and network
routing of the THz band turn out to be even more challenging because of limited coverage and the
application of highly directional antennas. In addition, frequent handover including handover
between beams and between cells is caused due to the narrow coverage of the THz system along
with the use of narrow beams and movement of mobile users in cells. Hence, the mechanism must
be improved to keep normal network functions. The following principles can be considered to
address the issue:
 A multi-hop system (relay) between the transmitter and the receiver can be introduced to
reduce transmission power and consumption, including passive and active relays. In addition,
dielectric mirrors or IRS can be applied to enhance or change the propagation characteristics
of signals in order to improve system coverage, for which purpose, developers need to
consider the optimal topology of the location, direction, reflection coefficient and cost of
relay or IRS deployment.
 Research and exploration should be carried out pertaining to the new routing strategies for
the network layer and link layer applicable to the THz band.

Based on the channel characteristics of THz, reference should be made to factors such as
transmission distance and molecular absorption when determining the information transmission
routing of the network layer to ensure sufficient resources to meet the transmission requirements
of a business. New routing metric strategies need to be developed and multiple factors need to be
comprehensively considered, including transmission distance, climate, physical and link layer
resources, energy consumption, and energy conservation required in transmission, to ensure that
the transmission requirements of the business are satisfied with the system performance improved.
[42]
 Research on new mobility management

In view of the small cell coverage in the THz band, the probability of coverage failure due to
narrow beams increases significantly, which will result in frequent handover that triggers large
signaling loads and imposes a negative impact on user experience. To address these challenges,
more aspects need to be brought into consideration:

 New strategies should be developed to reduce the probability of handover, such as using
distributed THz antenna array deployment to realize a user-centered network
architecture, ensure that users have multiple THz links simultaneously, and avoid link
failures owing to user movement.

 New coping strategies for beam failure can be developed and the traditional
handover-based solution to beam failure should be canceled. Fast beam estimation,

50
 prediction and recovery strategies should be studied, beam failure regarded as a process
of beam tracking and alignment within a cell, and the execution of handover due to
beam failure canceled.

 New handover processes need to be developed to improve the execution speed of

handover and sustain the transmission continuity of user information. The speed of
handover is crucial when the transmission rate is high. It is necessary to develop
intelligent handover algorithms using additional information including speed, direction
and traffic together with advanced technologies such as fuzzy logic in the THz band
communication network. In addition, a small cellular network architecture that is more
suitable, such as a virtual cell or extended cell, can be designed to reduce the number of
handovers and the probability of failures, ensure the rapid implementation of handover
and reduce the impact of handover on user experience.
Another research topic on network layer-related technologies is optimized addressing
mechanisms and strategies. Consideration can be given to the problems facing addressing with
128-bit long IPv6 addresses to support more network nodes and users. However, regarding
nano-scale applications such as the nano-scale Internet of Things (IoNT), it is a complex task to
assign different addresses to each nano node. This is mainly because each nano-machine uses a
long address, rendering coordination between nano-machines complicated. Hence, feasible
alternatives are required to replace the conventional method. Based on a hierarchical network
structure model, the nano nodes coordinated by a nano-router can have different addresses.

To sum up, in order to realize data transmission in large capacity based on THz band while
maintaining reasonable coverage, in-depth research pertaining to many respects are required to
bring about breakthroughs, including but not limited to the design and production of phased arrays
or other types of antenna arrays, MIMO technology, physical and network layer technology
optimization, etc., to hold up applications of THz band in 6G in the future.

5.4 THz and Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS)

The fundamental challenge of THz communication consists in the coverage, so how to

enhance the coverage performance of the THz band is one of the critical factors determining the
application prospect of THz communication. With one of the major functions of the IRS being to
enhance coverage, a combination of the THz and IRS technologies can be considered for
improving coverage or even breaking through the limitations of coverage in THz communication.
By changing the electromagnetic characteristics of an array's sub-units and artificial synthetic
meta-materials and intelligently re-configuring the radio propagation environment, the IRS
controls the scattering, reflection and refraction of radio waves to form an electric field with
controllable amplitude and phase, thus remarkably improving the performance of wireless
communication network. The integration of IRS and THz brings the following advantages: It
overcomes the high path attenuation of THz signals during propagation, increases the number of
multiplexing layers and capacity, and meets the critical capacity indicators of THz. It addresses the

51
challenges of THz coverage by covering the THz coverage holes with dense deployment,
intelligently controlling multiple paths and extending transmission range. The integration of the
two technologies also realizes THz position sensing and intelligent wireless sensor network, and
helps push forward the research on and implementation of THz-based sensing and communication
integration. In addition, it brings about 6G application values such as realizing interference
coordination (absorption and total internal reflection), beamforming and blind source separation
(mirror relationship does not have to be achieved between the incident and reflected signals),
nonlinear spectrum shifting (harmonic wave), simplified RF (RF function moves downward to the
material layer), generating orbital angular momentum signals of electromagnetic waves
(orthogonal signals), and solving problems of diffraction propagation of high-frequency signals,
radio power transfer, and low-cost phased arrays.

Research on IRS is still ongoing. In order to effectively utilize the performance advantages of
IRS to address the problem of THz coverage, relevant challenges must be faced and addressed:
 Channel modeling: analysis of physical and electromagnetic compatibility
communication model, path loss modeling, scattering model analysis, channel
characterization and simplification.
 Channel estimation: channel sparsity (dual-structured sparsity), position auxiliary channel
estimation, beam-matching coordination, deep learning.
 Beamforming: optimized design, non-ideal design, dimension-reduced processing, deep
learning.
 Sensing & positioning: active control of multi-path signals and spatial resolution
improvement.
 Deployment design: centralized and distributed IRS deployment and networking design.
In addition, for the purpose of organically integrating the IRS with THz to surmount the
challenges encountered by THz, further research is required in many aspects, including how to
establish a physical and electromagnetic compatibility model under the circumstance of THz band,
THz channel measurement and accurate modeling, limit analysis of model and communication
theories, deployment and networking design of IRS and THz communication, combination of
meta-materials and active devices, combination of meta-materials and antennas,
multi-dimensional regulation and coupling, experimental verification and site test, etc.

5.5 Joint Communication and Radio/Radar Sensing

It is well known that high-precision positioning is the key to driving industrial automation.
The mainstream positioning methods today include satellite-based global positioning systems,
high-precision positioning technologies using ultra-wideband equipment and low-cost and
low-precision positioning technologies using low-power equipment such as Bluetooth. All of them
require an independent system and thereby result in additional deployment and maintenance costs.
Although the Global Navigation Satellite System enables high-precision positioning within the
range covered by the satellites, it fails to be applicable to many indoor automation scenarios. For
this reason, the 5G system will support high-precision positioning, thus realizing a complete
industrial automation communication system that makes low delay, high reliability and

52
high-precision positioning possible at the same time.
As regards 6G, we expect the communication network to perform various sorts of sensing
tasks in addition to enabling positioning of higher precision. In indoor communication scenarios
where LOS propagation is limited, enhanced positioning solutions need to be designed to obtain
large-scale centimeter-level accuracy indoor. Potential technical means include the use of
UM-MIMO to provide considerable flexibility, AI/ML-based channel detection technology, RF
signal, image, and other sensor data fusion technologies. These technologies will improve network
sensing and positioning accuracy with limited LOS access points.
Driven by new application cases, the 6G system will also realize imaging scanning and
sensing of passive objects. Therefore, in the design of the 6G system, both communication and
sensing functions need to be brought into consideration. For example, 1) Waveforms suitable for
sensing such as linear FM signals can be multiplexed with optimized communication waveforms.
2) With the implementation of massive MIMO, narrow beams are formed, which can be used for
periodic scanning to realize sensing. 3) The sensing capability of the network can be further
enhanced through synergy between multiple transmitting and receiving ends. As the 6G
communication system is evolving towards the sub-THz and THz bands, the signal bandwidth
increases, so higher sensing precision can be achieved in all respects. THz-band millimeter-level
accurate imaging will be widely applied in industrial automation and health care, such as fault
detection during industrial manufacturing, imaging and detection of cancer cells and dental caries
in medicine. In addition, sensors with wireless communication capability are also applicable to
many scenarios, such as food quality control in supermarkets, invisible metal detectors that
replace existing security door systems in airports or large-sized infrastructure [43].
As a key technology of 6G, the joint communication and radio/radar sensing (JCAS) system
is gaining more attention. The integrated system holds an edge in reducing system size, weight,
power consumption, electromagnetic interference and more. It adapts to various application
scenarios and has captured extensive attention. A variety of emerging applications attempt to
obtain channel state information (CSI) from JCAS devices to carry out high-precision sensing and
analysis of environments. However, it is rather challenging to gain accurate channel frequency
responses from CSI measurements as common devices are incomplete in hardware. For example,
there are non-negligible linear and non-linear CSI errors that are common in various WiFi devices
or JCAS systems. This is the primary challenge to be addressed in order to achieve
communication and sensing integration.

Figure 26: JCAS Application on WiFi and 6G

53
 For a JCAS using MIMO-OFDM, CSI is a complex 3D matrix representing amplitude
attenuation and phase shift of multi-path channels. The time series in CSI measurement captures
how wireless signals pass through surrounding objects and humans in time, frequency and space
domains, so it can be used for different wireless sensing applications. For example, the amplitude
changes of the time domain of CSI feature different modes for people, activities, gestures, etc.,
which can be applied to the presence detection of people, fall detection, motion detection, activity
recognition, gesture recognition and human recognition/authentication. The phase shift of CSI in
the space and frequency domains, i.e. transmitting/receiving antenna and carrier frequency, is
related to the transmitting delay and direction of signals, which can be utilized for positioning and
tracking people. The phase shift of CSI in the time domain may have different dominant frequency
components, which is applicable to estimating respiratory rate. Sensing applications have different
requirements for signal processing techniques and classification/estimation algorithms. Therefore,
it is necessary to further understand the existing CSI sensing technology and improve it to obtain
accurate CSI parameters, especially the phase errors therein. The known sensing-based CSI errors
are mainly caused by:
 1) Power amplifier uncertainty (PAU)
Due to the limitation of hardware resolution (for example, the resolution of Atheros 9380 is
0.5 dB), the total gain of LNA and PGA cannot perfectly offset the attenuation of signal amplitude
to reach the power level at the time of transmission. The measured CSI amplitude is equal to the
power level after compensation, which is mixed with the uncertainty error of the power amplifier,
resulting in a CSI amplitude offset.
 2) I/Q unbalance
Orthogonal base band signals will be destroyed in case of amplitude and phase distortion.
Once I/Q is unbalanced, deformed CSI will be gained after sampling and FFT.
 3) Carrier frequency offset (CFO)
The center frequencies of receiving and sending transmission pairs cannot be fully
synchronized. The CFO is compensated by the CFO corrector of receivers whereas the
compensation is not complete due to incomplete hardware. The signal still carries the residual
CFO, which results in time-varying CSI phase offsets between sub-carriers.
 4) Sampling frequency offset (SFO)
Due to an asynchronous clock, offset occurs in the sampling frequencies of transmitters and
receivers, which may result in time shifts of the received signals relative to the transmitted signals
after ADC. After SFO correction, the residual SFO will cause rotation errors. As clock skew is
relatively stable in a short time, such phase rotation error is almost constant.
 5) Packet detection delay (PDD)
Group detection delay is caused by energy or related detection in digital processing after
down-conversion and ADC sampling. Moreover, packet detection brings in another error of time
shift phase rotation.
 6) PLL phase offset (PPO)
Phase locked loop (PLL) generates the center frequencies of transmitters and receivers, and
the CSI phase measurement of receivers is damaged by additional phase offsets.

54
Figure 27: CSI Measurement Error Sources with Typical WiFi 2.4 GHz Receiver with Direct Down Conversion
Architecture [44].

Apart from CSI-related challenges, there are many other issues that need to be addressed for
JCASs based on the THz channel band:
 Resource sharing and allocation: OTA resources such as time, space and frequency of the THz
system must be used in communication and sensing simultaneously. Then, a static or dynamic
allocation mechanism must be established. The dynamic allocation of beam resources is more
likely to be effective. However, the THz communication system needs a stable and accurate
beam while the sensing system requires the beam to be able to scan a certain area. Therefore,
it is a challenge to design a dynamic resource allocation mechanism that can take into account
the high-rate data requirements of the communication system and the requirements of high
sensing performance.
 Coexistence mechanism: Communication and sensing systems can coexist in many forms,
such as co-existence, co-operation or co-design. Each form has its advantages and
disadvantages. For example, in the first form, the two systems are independently designed to
eliminate the interference between the two systems while keeping them functioning.
Therefore, careful study on which form to use should be conducted based on applications
scenarios.
 Waveform design: Traditional sensing systems typically use single-carrier waveforms.
Receivers using this approach are relatively simple. However, using complex modulation
signals, communications systems have a complicated structure and possess massive data.
Therefore, the waveform requirements in the two functions are to be comprehensively
considered to optimize the performance of the two systems.
 Design complexity: The mass application of THz ISAC systems will inevitably a large
number of regional interference and backhaul issues. In addition, interference between
communication and sensing systems is a problem to be considered as well.
Transmitters' design THz band includes many water absorption peaks. For greater contrast, the

55
transmission power of the transmission source must be increased and a focused beam formed. The
maximum power achievable is determined by the maximum oscillation frequency (Fmax) and the
maximum breakdown voltage. Hence, compromises between the two properties are expected.
Further, the use of array antennas can realize narrower beams, enabling more precise sensing.
However, the design and manufacturing of antenna arrays in the THz band remain an unsolved
problem. The pointing of antenna beams requires a phase adjustment mechanism. The phase
adjustment in the THz band with an active device will again lead to the trade-off between Fmax
and maximum breakdown voltage. To adjust the phase with a passive device, a low-loss,
high-frequency phase shifter made with new materials must be designed.
 Receiver design: The sensitivity of passive image sensing (non-coherent receivers) depends
on the sensing sensitivity of the passive transistor. In the research that follows, the sensitivity
of transistors in the THz band will have to be improved and their sizes be reduced to enhance
the quality and contrast of sensing images. Presenting another challenge, the sensitivity of
coherent receivers mainly depends on the minimum noise factor and LO phase noise.
Currently, these indicators are challenging in the THz band.

In sum, while ISAC in the THz band promises a good prospect, many technological problems
and challenges await to be examined and addressed.

56
6.Challenges to Design and Testing of THz Communication
Prototype Systems
The properties of the THz band will challenge the design and testing of 6G THz
communication prototype systems in the future in many aspects. To begin with, the THz band
has a higher frequency and shorter wavelength than 5G FR2 (5G FR2 frequency: FR2-24.2–52.6
GHz). This not only leads us to difficult fields of semiconductor physics (gain, band gap, carrier
migration rate, cost, manufacturing, noise power density, etc.) but also confronts us with the
challenge of increasingly smaller sizes of devices. The physical sizes of new components and
devices will be smaller than those at lower frequencies. With the reduced absolute physical size,
the physical size tolerance in electronic components, mechanical parts, and assembly accuracy
will exert a major effect on radio performance. In addition, the significant increase in base band
bandwidth and high-speed signal processing and power requirements necessitate a higher level of
radio system integration to prevent performance degradation due to the loss of signal power.
Signal transmission in high-frequency bands will have substantial transmission loss,
especially on frequencies with absorption peaks. The spectra in between absorption peaks provide
about 94 GHz, 140 GHz, and 220 GHz of potential signal transmission windows. In particular, in
the D-band (110–170 GHz), about 60 GHz of frequency spectra are available for ultra-wideband
data transmission. To make full use of the potential bandwidth for prospect 6G demand, a
collection of challenges await to be addressed in hardware system design, in particular in the
design, development, and testing of the prototype system, so as to offer experience and basis for
the design and development of follow-up commercial THz systems.

6.1 Challenges to the Design of THz Hardware Systems

The allocation of new frequency spectra provides the potential to reach groundbreaking high data
throughput. However, to optimize the performance of sub-THz systems on broadband or
ultra-wideband, four key factors are to be considered:
 Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) optimization
 Phase noise minimization
 Resolving linear and nonlinear impairments
 Selection of optimal waveform

SNR optimization is a key consideration for delivering the optimal EVM performance:
• Considerations on "S": On one hand, the maximized signal power helps achieve the
highest SNR. On the other, given the signal characteristics of the statistical
peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of complex waveforms, signal power must be
lowered to prevent saturated compression on signal links.
• Considerations on "N": The noise contribution of SNR will challenge the application of
broadband since noise power is integrated on wide signal bandwidth. For example, the

57
 composite noise of 10 GHz signals in 6G applications is 1,000 times that of LTE 10 MHz
signals (or 30 dB).
• Considerations on "R": SNR is “compressed” at both high and low ends. This is a key
consideration for ultra-wideband testing systems. Generally, SNR can be regarded as
achievable residual EVM.

The up-conversion from the intermediate frequency (IF) to THz frequency involves
frequency conversion using signal sources of the local oscillator (LO) and a frequency converter.
This is also the case with down-conversion from THz frequency to IF. To avoid the properties of
signal modulation, any frequency multiplier present is typically used on the LO path instead of the
signal path. The frequency multiplier(s) will increase the phase noise to 20 * Log (N), where N is
the multiplication factor. In addition, the multiplier will introduce additive phase noises, further
reducing the LO phase noise after multiplication, with the degree of reduction depending on the
quality of the multiplier used. The performance of testing systems with low residual EVM at THz
frequency requires LO signal sources with high quality and low phase noise.
The PathWave System Design (SystemVue) developed by KEYSIGHT is mainly utilized to
simulate the effect of LO phase noise on the design of sub-THz up-converters. (The design is only
used to demonstrate key considerations in simulation modeling, rather than actual systems
modeling.) The simulation case study uses a simple up-converter design and the center frequency
of the modulation IP source is set to 6 GHz. The modulation order can be set to QPSK, 16 QAM,
or 64 QAM, symbol rate to 8.8 GHz, and the alpha of the root-raised-cosine filter (RRC) to 0.22.

Figure 28: Phase Noise of Sub-THz Up-Converter Design

The modulation IF is up-converted to 144 GHz using an LO mixer. The LO source frequency
is set to 23 GHz and a 6x frequency multiplier is connected to the mixer. Hence, the mixer LO
frequency is 138 GHz, which plus 6 GHz IF produces 144 GHz up-conversion frequency. Mixers

58
on nonlinear hardware will further reduce the IF or mirror images generated at 132 GHz, at the LO
frequency and other spurious products requiring filtering. 。
The LO phase noise is denoted by dBc/Hz at different frequency offsets. Therefore, the phase
noise is modeled with a frequency offset greater than 100 kHz. In the first simulation scenario, the
phase noise parameter is set to one that is easy to modify, to assess the configuration file required
by the phase noise. The vector signal analysis (VSA) software is connected to the output end of
the up-converter. Post-processing and analysis of the simulation result are performed using the
PathWave 89600 VSA software. The simulation result is shown on the left side of Figure 29,
where the image on the lower left illustrates the signal centered at 144 GHz and transmitted at
about 10 GHz. Some minimum dispersions caused by the LO phase noise can be seen by zooming
in one of the 16QAM constellation diagrams on the upper left. The minimum dispersion of the
constellation status corresponds to the 1.56% EVM shown in the abstract.

Figure 29: Phase Noise Simulation Result

The right side of Figure 29 illustrates the second simulation scenario where the phase noise is
increased by 10 dBc/Hz for higher frequency offsets. The rotation of the constellation status and
the dispersion increase may be due to phase noise increase. The EVM is creased to 4.07%. The
EVM normalization reference is set to the reference root mean square (RMS) of the error vectors.
To remove mirror images, LO feed-throughs, out-of-band spurs, and other unnecessary
spectrum components, a filter is to be used. The filter and other components in the testing system
(e.g., mixer and amplifier) will introduce the linear amplitude component and phase error into the
ultra-wide signal bandwidth. The adaptive equalizer helps reduce the linear amplitude and phase
error, a function similar to what it does in a receiver. Typically, a receiver system requires base
band equalization since all signals it receives are not ideal and include channel loss. In the testing
systems of wideband or ultra-wideband systems, the testing device receiver (for example, IF
digitizer) can eliminate the linear amplitude and phase impairments through adaptive equalization.
However, the adaptive equalizer only operates for the linear amplitude and phase error. There will
be residual noise and nonlinear impairments to affect EVM, regardless of whether the equalizer is
enabled or not. Thus, the adaptive equalizer cannot eliminate the nonlinear impairments in any
compression amplifier or LO phase noise in the testing system signal path and may affect the
residual EVM in the millimeter-wave (mmWave)/sub-THz testing system.
To address the challenge, a band-pass filter centered at 144 GHz and a power amplifier (PA)
are added to the up-converter design (see Figure 30), which is then validated with simulations.

59
Figure 31 shows the simulation result. The amplifier has a specified gain and outputs the 1-dB
compression point. An output third-order intercept (TOI) point is specified for the mixer to
simulate the nonlinearity.

Figure 30: Band-Pass Filter and Power Amplifier Added to the Sub-THz Up-Converter Design

The simulation result on the left of Figure 31 shows the EVM when the adaptive equalizer is
not enabled. The EVM is 15.99%. The dispersion is indicated by the constellation status. However,
it is hard to determine whether the dispersion is caused by the linear amplitude and phase error of
the band-pass filter or the nonlinear distortion of the mixer.

Figure 31: Simulation Result with the Band-Pass Filter and Power Amplifier Added

The simulation result on the right of Figure 31 shows the EVM when the adaptive equalizer
is enabled. Though lower than that before equalization, the EVM is increased to 4.57%, due to the
nonlinear impairments of the mixer and PA, compared with that in the design without the
band-pass filter and PA. As the adaptive equalizer cannot correct the nonlinear impairments, it
only removes linear amplitude and phase error in the band-pass filter. Nonlinear impairments
persist and increase the EVM. The diagonal pattern in the constellation status, which appears after
the adaptive equalizer begins to operate, indicates how the adaptive equalizer corrects the linear
impairments without addressing the impairments resulting from nonlinearity.
The above simulations used single-carrier QAM waveforms. Other waveforms can be
modeled and simulated with the design of the THz up-converter to assess the system performance
of potential candidate waveform technologies. The THz waveform solution is hard to finalize

60
before standardization organizations compile the standards for 6G physical layer technology.
Therefore, relevant THz simulation systems should offer sufficient flexibility to test and
demonstrate various potential candidate waveform technologies. System design simulations will
play an important role in assessing the prediction system performance across various simulation
scenarios.

6.2 Development and Testing of THz Prototype Systems

To overcome the challenges in the prototype building and performance testing of THz
communication systems, the solution should be subject to refined simulations at electromagnetic,
circuit, and system levels. The costs of the particular tiny materials required by prototype building
mean that the simulations are more necessary than ever before, in order to avoid rework of design
and facilitate troubleshooting. Moreover, the increasing high integration in future 6G
radio-frequency (RF) circuits further highlights the meticulousness required in simulations and
that direct measurement and commissioning of individual components in circuits have been made
less likely.
In addition to simulations at electromagnetic and circuit levels, system-level simulations are
necessary for the assessment of transceiver performance indicators and system considerations.
Careful consideration must be given to the performance optimization of THz systems with
ultra-wideband spectra. Key design factors are multi-fold, such as SNR optimization, reduction of
LO phase noise, resolution of linear and nonlinear distortions, energy efficiency optimization, and
assessment of candidate waveform technologies. In the same vein, the experimental platform for
THz system validation and commercial platforms in the future must also take these key factors
into account.
The RF testing of 6G systems will follow that of 5G FR2, i.e., OTA-based testing. The major
challenge thereof is that OTA-based testing is mainly conducted at the system level. That is, base
band signals are provided to the device under test (DUT) and RF indicators are measured through
modulation analysis of the signals received at the peer end of the radio link. This approach, in fact,
tests the comprehensive performance of the entire radio link, rather than an individual component.
The advantage of THz communication systems lies in the leverage of potential ultra-high
bandwidth to support the data rates up to Tbps required by future 6G systems. Toward this end,
signal bandwidth over 100 GHz remains necessary to satisfy the requirement, even if the spectrum
efficiency reaches the challenging 10 bps/Hz. Therefore, the generation and analysis of
ultra-wideband signals will demand the support of brand-new measurement devices. Measurement
instruments and DUTs capable of supporting 1 Tbps data rates must be equipped with
high-performance high-speed analog-digital converters (ADCs), digital-analog converters (DACs),
and new high-speed digital logic processing units, such as field-programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs). The use of these new components will push up the initial cost of 6G devices and
measurement instruments.
Since the specific requirements of 6G have not been strictly defined, the prototype validation
platform for R&D must be flexible enough to meet the requirements of various candidate
frequency points, modulation bandwidths, and waveform formats. It may as well need to be able

61
to extend to multiple parallel channels to validate potential multi-antenna technology. The
infrastructure of an RF Tx/Rx validation platform includes base band signal generation,
modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency, interconnection with the DUT's Tx/Rx end,
RF reception, down-conversion and demodulation, base band processing and analysis, relevant
signal processing software, calibration, data management, etc.
 Addressing component and device problems:
Some conduction tests remain feasible in 6G THz systems mainly by the connection of the
frequency converter to the RFIC probe through a waveguide. While the wafer probe approach
limits conduction tests at the RFIC level, the waveguide connection approach will increase
restrictions on the physical position and orientations of the measurement instruments and DUTs.
Thus, there is always a basic need to measure passive and active devices with a vector network
analyzer (VNA). In the THz band, this can be conducted with a combination of a VNA capable of
frequency expansion and wafer probe technology. New VNA functions also include some
representations of broadband, big signals (nonlinear), and the noise factor, which will be
particularly helpful for assessing the active devices critical to communication systems.
 Addressing the ultra-high bandwidth problem from the perspectives of signal generation and
analysis:
 Signal generation:
The generation of base band signals requires high-performance arbitrary wave generators (AWGs),
high-performance real-time generators (e.g., using FPGAs), and software for frame structure,
waveform, and modulation. The most advanced AWGs are capable of up to 32 GHz bandwidth
and sampling frequency up to 92 GSa/s on multiple channels. They can generate modulation
signals at an IF point and up-convert them to the required carrier frequency directly. This will
achieve lower residual EVM. In particular, lower IF points will benefit from the processing gain as
a result of AWG oversampling. The IF point selection must ensure that the IF point is high enough
to filter the undesirable mirror image components after conversion to the sub-THz frequency point
and is as low as possible to reach the optimal EVM performance brought by oversampling gain.
 Signal analysis:
Similar to the generation of base band signals, the first step of base band signal analysis is
frequency conversion to down-convert the signals from the THz frequency point to the IF
frequency point, which requires high-performance real-time oscilloscopes or data acquisition units
so as to meet the high bandwidth requirements of 6G. For example, currently, high-performance
real-time oscilloscopes can reach up to 110 GHz bandwidth and sampling frequency up to 256
GSa/s on multiple channels. Oscilloscopes and data acquisition units can be used in combination
with down-converter to analyze the high-bandwidth signals in the THz band. For EVM
performance optimization, reasonable adjustment to IF amplitude entering the data acquisition unit
is needed to optimize the dynamic range and maximize the SNR. After sampling, the IF waveform
will continue to be processed by the VSA or the measurement software. If necessary, signals will
be further recollected to obtain the spectrum, constellation diagrams, EVM, and other
measurement results.
The aforementioned base band processing tools (AWGs, oscilloscopes, and data acquisition unit)
are multi-channel instruments, which means that their required number of channels can be flexibly
configured to research multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) systems using multi-antenna
technology. They should be used in combination with a multi-channel RF system.

62
Notwithstanding the increased cost, complicity, and floor area of the testing platform, this will
provide the MIMO system with the necessary capability of multiple parallel channels.
 Addressing the higher frequency problem: from the perspectives of signal generation and
analysis
 Signal generation:
THz signals with ultra-high bandwidth can be generated using AWGs in association with
up-converters in the D-band (110–170 GHz) and the G-band (140–220 GHz). Different frequency
converters can be employed to adapt to different bands. The performance can be tested by the
conduction test with the waveguide connection or the OTA test with an antenna (for example, the
horn antenna). The up-conversion from IF to the HTz frequency point involves the generation of
LO signals and frequency converters. The frequency multipliers here are generally used only on
the LO path, instead of the signal path, to avoid influence on signal modulation properties. The
frequency multipliers will increase the phase noise to at least 20 Log(N), where N is the
multiplication factor. In addition, the multiplier will introduce additive phase noises, further
deteriorating the LO phase noise after multiplication, with the degree of deterioration depending
on the quality of the multiplier used. The testing systems with low residual EVM at THz
frequency require LO signal sources with high quality and low phase noise.
 Signal analysis:
 The down-converters of the D-band and the G-band can be leveraged to convert THz
signals to an IF, which will be digitized and analyzed with a VSA or measurement
software. If necessary, signals will be further recollected to obtain the spectrum,
constellation diagrams, EVM, and other measurement results. In addition to phase noise,
in-band spurs during up and down-conversion will also affect the EVM performance.
Although linear distortions from filters or other devices with amplitude and phase
responses relative to frequency also affect EVM, they can generally be eliminated by the
adaptive equalizer in VSA software. Linear distortions caused by the mixer and
amplifier compression, phase noise, and spurs cannot be removed by the adaptive
equalizer and thus will influence the EVM performance.
 Addressing problems of active antenna
In 24–54 GHz 5G systems, the analog beam control brought by the active antenna array is a key
factor. This trend persists in 6G systems operating at higher bands. Three main factors influence
active antenna tests. First, the demand for signal directivity testing is significantly increased, in
addition to traditional RF indicator measurement. Signals should not only be correct but also point
to the right directions. The second major influence is the cancellation of the RF connector. This
means that compared with conduction tests at lower bands, a larger proportion of tests will be
over-the-air, significantly promoting OTA anechoic chamber demand. Before that, anechoic
chambers were rarely used in mobile communication R&D. However, with the emergence of FR2
bands and active antenna arrays, most testing platforms nowadays are required to have OTA
testing anechoic chambers. The third influence is the higher calibration requirement of antenna
arrays for beam control accuracy. For FR2, the relatively wider beam width allows a certain
degree of inaccuracy in antenna array calibration. In fact, antenna array calibration is even deemed
not necessary in many designs. However, the emergence of active antennas operating at 6G bands
is likely to narrow the beam width, thus requiring more accurate antenna array calibration.
 Addressing the higher integration problem:

63
 Higher integration and smaller mechanical tolerances compound the measurement challenges
already existing in 5G FR2 systems, which render the measurement at the sub-system and
component levels more challenging. First, this highlights the demand for comprehensive modeling
and simulations: the required EM simulations are not just on the RFIC level, but on the antenna
level. Further, joint simulations are needed, as the antenna and RFIC will ultimately be combined
into the same circuit. 6G antennas in the THz band will utilize antenna arrays and arrays of
various antenna elements, such as patches, dipoles, reflectors, and even lenses, to form an antenna
system to enhance the 6G RF radiation performance. Therefore, system-level simulations taking
into account the sub-system and component-level interactions will facilitate faster, lower-cost
prototype building. This will necessitate advanced modeling of semiconductors, passive
components, encapsulation, connectors, and antennas.
The validation process will be more challenging once the prototype system is available for testing.
The testing methods for cellular communication devices have changed, as both ends of the radio
links of 5G FR2 systems use integrated antenna array and beam control. In 4G and its several
precedent generations of mobile communication, almost all base stations and terminals were tested
during R&D, manufacturing, and conformance testing (CT) by the conduction (wired) approach.
The direct integration of the antenna array with multiple antennas feeds means that conduction
tests will be quite troublesome or even impossible. For example, all the RF conformance tests of
5G FR2 are required to be conducted over the air.
Although being able to reuse traditional RF testing procedures (such as the use of flexible RF
cables and connectors) in some conduction tests may be advantageous, these tests will be subject
to some restrictions. If RF connectors available on the market are to be used, the state-of-art
conduction testing technology is only limited to 110 GHz or 145 GHz at the best. The
1.0-millimeter coaxial connectors can support RF measurement of up to 110 GHz, whereas new
0.8-millimeter connectors up to 145 GHz. Nevertheless, 1.0-millimeter connectors are the smallest
connectors whose performance is traceable to the International System of Units. Compared with
OTA tests, the advantages of conduction tests lie in their repeatability, replicability, cost, and the
space of the testing system. How to realize the high-precision, repeatable measurement of CWs
and modulation signals in sub-THz bands is an essential research topic.
The OTA test, increasingly pervasive in 5G FR2, will be the most realistic approach to THz
system testing. It is required not just for antenna measurement (as described below), but for almost
all RF performance and function tests. Each one of the various types of measurement is faced with
a series of challenges. In the event of frequency higher than 100 GHz, some insights can at least
be gained from tests for 5G FR2. Apart from some regular indicators, RF measurement will
require some additional tests. The most basic transmitter indicators, such as output power, spurs,
adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR), quality of modulation, and occupied bandwidth, remain
necessary. New measurement items related to TDD systems include turn-off power ratio,
switching time, and time-domain template. Tests such as spherical coverage, time of beam
conversion, effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), and even beam correspondence for
maintaining links are necessary for electronically controlled antennas directly controlled by the
MAC layer protocol. The last group of items is unique to OTA measurement and will have more
stringent requirements, given the shorter wavelength 6G.

64
 In 5G systems, the SNR issue will arise in measurements that must be taken in environments
with low power spectral density, such as spurs, turn-off power ratio, and even some beam searches.
The distance between Tx and Rx antennas to ensure the Rx antenna is on the far field of radiation
means significant path loss leading to the issue of the dynamic measurement range. With the lower
expected output power of THz systems, this will be more challenging. Solutions shortening the
physical distance between Tx and Rx antennas in the anechoic chamber ("nearer far field") may be
considered. However, the far field may not necessarily be smaller than 5G FR2. The 2D2/λ
principle of far-field distance involves wavelength in the denominator, which may result in a
farther-than-expected far field, depending on the size of the bore diameter (D).
Other key problems in OTA tests are the design, calibration, and use of measuring probes, as
well as the signal routing in the anechoic chamber. All these problems are related to ensuring
accurate, repeatable performance measurement of antennas and the entire integrated system.
 System-level considerations
The possibility of using system design software and VSA in combination with AWGs,
oscilloscopes, and data acquisition units provides the generation and analysis of various candidate
waveforms with continuity from design to testing and software-defined flexibility.
The integration of tools, data, and processes from system design to test validation
substantially improves the overall development process. It typically requires simulations and
analysis of overall system performance. When the prototype sub-system is available, tests will
first be conducted at the sub-system level. The key is to have a tool to integrate the actual
measurement data into the finalized system-level model. In addition, for result consistency, it will
be very helpful to use an analysis tool able to jointly process system-level simulation data and data
measured with instruments.
 Application-level considerations
The use of radio systems with a very short wavelength not only helps reach high data rates
but utilizes RF signals as sensors for analyzing materials or providing the possibility similar to
radar sensing or imaging. Such potential application scenarios are being considered for 6G, posing
new requirements on system testing not just for maintaining interconnection with other systems,
but also including measurement of the reflex response of signals of the system itself. Methods to
use orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), instead of the simpler
frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW), in vehicle radar systems are being
developed—complex waveforms will be used for ranging and probably rough system imaging.
This will make such radar systems insusceptible to interference and allow multi-purpose
inter-vehicle communication.
If a 6G THz system employs active antennas to maintain connections with 6G UEs or base
stations and can be used for imaging or ranging, the scope of its performance testing will be
further extended. The receiver must be reconfigurable (or repeatable) to receive and analyze
reflected signals. Therefore, performance indicators related to radar applications are now deemed
more important than a mere focus on those associated with RF. Phase noise E is essential to the
EVM performance of signals of the OFDM type and acts as an influence on the Tx and Rx
performance, which changes the way the anti-interference capability is measured.
 Inter-system considerations (collaboration with other radio systems in conventional

65
 bands)
The commercial applications of the THz band currently remain in the initial research and
exploration stage. A certain level of anti-interference capability can be provided with directional
antennas, narrow beams, and transmission attenuation. However, if a 6G system is to be integrated
with 5G FR1 and FR2 systems, the system coexistence testing will be of significance. For
example, testing the coexistence of FR1 and the existing cellular system, or that of FR2 and
satellite signals, requires a flexible testing platform to generate and analyze a series of different
signal coexistence scenarios.
Once these new bands, bandwidths, and candidate waveforms prove capable of fundamental
6G capabilities, another issue to be considered is how to integrate them into the existing cellular
communication standards developed with several years of effort and billions of dollars. In the ear
stage of 5G, numerous new methods were considered, many of which would entail significant
changes to and even complete abandon of prior investment. One of the 5G evolution approaches
was to appropriately modify specifications for bands lower than 6 GHz and to deliver higher data
rates through the FR2 band when necessary and possible. "Non-independent", "enhanced data
channel", and other terms describing FR2 reinforced this perspective. As 5G standards become
fully mature, the situation may change. However, the existing approaches are very likely to remain
a reality in the long run.
Many new approaches to 6G will be explored and examined, including carrier frequency,
bandwidth, waveform, and other new ideas. However, these new ideas may be expected to be used
in combination with prior standards or to provide enhanced capabilities.
From the standpoint of testing, this does not exert much influence in the early R&D stage.
Nevertheless, with the full implementation of system functions and the beginning of tests, the
testing devices and environment will have to support a wide range of carrier frequencies and
bandwidths. Base stations and devices such as terminal simulators must support a variety of bands
by configurable, economic, and efficient means. OTA anechoic chambers need to support multiple
antenna locations and frequency ranges. In the finalized 6G UEs, channels lower than 6 GHz are
very likely to be first used to build and maintain calls or data transmissions before sub-THz
channels are added to deliver the groundbreaking data transmission rates promised by 6G.
As noted, many aspects of the design, development, and testing of 6G THz communication
systems await to be researched and problems to be addressed to facilitate the implementation of
THz communication technology:
 Prototype building and testing costs when the frequency point is increased to above 100 GHz
 Complexity of connectors, antennas, anechoic chambers, amplifiers, measurement
instruments, and software
 Retention of sufficient SNR
 Precise components and circuit models for new active, passive, and signal routing
technologies (simulations and computer-aided circuit design)
 Antenna measuring probe technology (horn, lens, phased array, etc.)
 Damping signal routing for optimal performance
 Precision of mechanical positioning devices for anechoic chamber and 3D measurement
 Sensitivity at tiny sizes

66
  New physical circuit design technology
 Advanced calibration for measuring traceability
 What and how to measure
 Addressing low power spectral density and dynamic ranges
 New approaches to beam integrity and beam control measurement
 To-be-tested performance indicators of imaging, ranging, and communication systems
 Commissioning of complex systems
 Combination of measurement and simulation modeling
 System design trade-off
 Design ideas taking testing and validation into account
 Trade-off among link budget, imaging, and power consumption
 Requirements for R&D validation platforms
 Core functions and performance to be measured
 How to integrate calibration and traceability into the platform and the uncertainty of
complex measurement

As with the application of FR2 in 5G, using bands higher than 100 GHz for mainstream
commercial communication is a brand new way. The new properties of the application of these
bands will entail extensive work, from system-level design to prototype building, and ultimately to
performance measurement, in order to lay the foundation for subsequent development of
commercial products.

67
7. 6G Development Planning and Recommendations based
on the THz Band
The application vision of the future 6 G THz communication is "green + intelligent + fusion".
"Green" indicates to develop low-carbon, energy-saving THz devices/chips/components and
systems. "Intelligent " stands for flexible, resilient, and intelligent THz communication air
interface design and resource scheduling management. "Fusion" refers to the effective integration
of THz communication and other 6G wireless technologies. "Green, intelligent, and fusion" are
not only the vision for THz communication applications, but also the iterative directions and
development trends of the R&D of THz communication technology. Based on these goals and
vision, four recommendations are put forwards for the development of future 6G THz
communications:

 Development recommendation 1: Realize as soon as possibe the capability of THz

communication systems to support multi-user mobile communication functions

At present, most of the state-of-art THz communication prototype systems in the industry target at
the verification of point-to-point fixed transmission functions,, and they do not possess multi-user
mobile communication capabilities. From the perspectives of current standardization status and
technological maturity, point-to-point fixed transmission scenarios promise early applications of
THz communication, but technical difficulties and challenges, such as antennas and mass
integration, are present for wireless mobile communication applications. THz communication
systems must be capable of multi-user mobile communication in order to be applied to a wider
range of application scenarios. Otherwise, their mass application will be limited to serving as
supplementary networks in specific application scenarios. With regard to this challenge, the
application of new material technologies, such as super-material antennas, THz chips, and IRS, is
expected to provide solutions for THz wireless mobile communications to make technical
breakthroughs.
 Development recommendation 2: Developing green, energy-saving 6G high-frequency
communication systems
From the perspective of 5G network construction and operations, the energy consumption of 5G
base stations is 3.5 to 4.5 times that of 4G, and the costs of base station electricity will increase
several times.. Communication operators are facing huge OPEX pressure In the THz band, the
frequency is higher. According to the propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves, the
propagation and penetration loss of this frequency band is also greater. Compared with the 3.5GHz
frequency band, the free space path loss of terahertz is increased by 30-50dB, and the path loss of
the 26GHz millimeter wave band is increased by 10-35dB. The effective coverage radius of the
base station network is much lower than that of the low-frequency network, so the density of the
terahertz communication network will also be considerably increased. Facing the highly complex
communication network of the future, whether it is from the perspective of implementing the
national strategy of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" or from the perspective of the driving

68
force of operators to invest in network construction, green energy saving is the prerequisite and
inevitable requirement for future 6G THz communication applications and technology landing.
From the current technology and industry status, efforts can be made in three aspects to promote
the realization of green and energy-saving THz communication systems: (1) R&D and
technological breakthrough of high-efficiency and low-energy THz devices/chips/components; (2)
high energy-efficient air interface design for THz communication systems; (3) coordinated
operation and maintenance of the intelligent energy-saving network to jointly reduce the energy
consumption of the system network.

 Development recommendation 3: Effective fusion of THz communication and other 6G

wireless technologies
Fusion" is the theme of the technical development of the entire 6G high-frequency
communications, including THz. . As a potential 6G application technology, high-frequency
communication will not be a technology being developed and promoted separately. Instead,it
needs to be effectively integrated with other 6G wireless technologies to form an overall 6G
wireless air interface solution, including integration with IRS, sensing, and other wireless
technologies such as large-scale antennas, orbital angular momentum (OAM), etc.

 Development recommendation 4: Timely "aligning" technical breakthroughs in critical

THz components/chips/components with the development pace of the 6G industry.
In the communication evolution from 1G through to 5G, the generation of a decade is a fact, but it
does not necessarily represent the law, and ultimately depends on the comprehensive role of
business needs, technology and business models.. Therefore, when it comes to
the development of 6G, in addition to considering technical factors, we must also consider many
factors such as business inheritance, healthy development of the industry, and industrial chain
capabilities. THz communications have a high technical application value and potential, being
likely to play a key supporting role in the future 6G communication system.Despite that, to ensure
the mass commercial implementation of THz communication, it is a must to timely align key
breakthroughs in technical functions and performance of core THz devices/chips/components and
the degree of industrialization with the development pace of the 6G industry. This involves three
aspects: First, to implement THz communication applications, key technological breakthroughs
need to keep up with the progress of 6G high-frequency communication standardization. Second,
with technical function requirements being satisfied, the industrial chain maturity, i.e., the system
construction cost, plays a major role in capital expenditure (CAPEX) and thus is a key factor for
the mass application of the new technology. Third, the current commercial application level and
technological value of 5G millimeter waves will significantly influence the future applications of
6G high-frequency communication including THz.

69
8.References
[1] Elayan, H., Amin, O., Shihada, B., Shubair, R.M. and Alouini, M.S., “Terahertz band: The last
piece of RF spectrum puzzle for communication systems”, IEEE Open Journal of the
Communications Society, 2019.
[2] A. J. Kerecman, “The Tungsten-P type Silicon point contact diode,” in MTT-S Int. Microwave
Symp. Dig. IEEE, 1973, pp. 30–34.
[3] J. R. Ashley and F. Palka, “Transmission cavity and injection stabilization of an X-band
transferred electron oscillator,” in MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig. IEEE, 1973, pp.
181–182.
[4] J. W. Fleming, “High-resolution submillimeter-wave Fourier-transform spectrometry of gases,”
IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 1023–1025, Dec. 1974.
[5] R. Piesiewicz, T. Kleine-Ostmann, N. Krumbholz, D. Mittleman, M. Koch, J. Schoebei, and T.
Kurner, “Short-range ultra-broadband terahertz communications: Concepts and perspectives,”
IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag., vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 24–39, Dec. 2007.
[6] IEEE 802.15 WPAN Task Group 3d 100 Gbit/s Wireless (TG 3d (100G)),
http://www.ieee802.org/15/pub/SG100G.html, accessed: 2018-08-13.
[7] IEEE 802.15 3d, IEEE Standard for High Data Rate Wireless Multi-Media Networks
{Amendment 2: 100 Gb/s Wireless Switched Point-to-Point Physical Layer, IEEE Std
802.15.3d-2017 (2017) 1{55doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2017.8066476.
[8] IEEE 802.15 3d, Applications Requirements Document, IEEE 802.15-14/0304r16.
[9] IEEE 802.15 3d, Channel Modeling Document, IEEE 802.15-14/0310-19-003d.
[10] S. Priebe, D. M. Britz, M. Jacob, S. Sarkozy, K. M. Leong, J. E. Logan, B. S. Gorospe, T.
Kurner, Interference Investigations of Active Communications and Passive Earth Exploration
Services in the THz Frequency Range, IEEE Trans. Terahertz Sci. Technol. 2 (5) (2012)
525-537.
[11] ITU-R: Radio Regulations 2016; http://www.itu.int/pub/R-REG-RR
[12] CEPT/ECC, ECC Report 282, Point-to-Point Radio Links in the Frequency Ranges 92114.25
GHz and 130-174.8 GHz, Sept. 2018, available at:
https://www.ecodocdb.dk/download/502e984f9be3/ECCRep282.pdf.
[13] “FCC Fact Sheet, Spectrum Horizons,” February 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-356297A1.pdf
[14] I. F. Akyildiz, J. M. Jornet, and C. Han, “TeraNets: ultra-broadband communication
networks in the terahertz band,” IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 130–135, Aug.
2014.
[15] Rappaport, T.S., Xing, Y., Kanhere, O., Ju, S., Madanayake, A., Mandal, S., Alkhateeb, A.
and Trichopoulos, G.C., 2019. Wireless communications and applications above 100 GHz:
Opportunities and challenges for 6G and beyond. IEEE access, 7, pp.78729-78757
[16] K.Sengupta, T.Nagatsuma, and D.M.Mittleman, “Terahertz integrated electronic and hybrid
electronic–photonic systems,” Nature Electronics, 1, 12 (2018)
[17] X.Wu, H.Lu & K.Sengupta, “Programmable terahertz chip-scale sensing interface with direct
digital reconfiguration at sub-wavelength scales,” Nat. Comm, vol. 10, no.1, pp. 2722, Jun. 2019.

70
[18] International Roadmap for Devices and Systems, available online: https://irds.ieee.org/
Y. He, Y. Chen, L. Zhang, S. Wong and Z. N. Chen, "An overview of terahertz antennas," in China
Communications, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 124-165, July 2020, doi: 10.23919/J.CC.2020.07.011.Arden, W.,
Brillouët, M., Cogez, P., Graef, M., Huizing, B., & Mahnkopf, R. (2010). “ More-than-Moore ”
White Paper.
[19] Kazutoshi Kato (Kyushu University, Japan): Beam forming and steering of terahertz wave by
arrayed photomixers, ECOC2020
[20] K. Sengupta and A. Hajimiri, "Distributed active radiation for THz signal generation," 2011 IEEE
International Solid-State Circuits Conference
[21]
http://www.teledyne-si.com/products-and-services/scientific-company/mm-wave-and-thz-pa-chips
[22] http://www.mkr-r.com/product-thzxp.html
[23] https://www.microharmonics.com/bio/
[24]
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/31908-recent-advancements-in-mmwave-isolator-technology
[25] C. Han, Y. Wang, Y. Li, Y. Chen, N. A. Abbasi, T. Kürner and A. F. Molisch, ”Terahertz
Wireless Channels: A Holistic Survey on Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis,” arXiv preprint
arXiv: 2111.04522, Nov. 2021

[26] C. Han and Y. Chen, “Propagation modeling for wireless communications in the terahertz
band,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 96–101, 2018.
[27] C. Han, A. O. Bicen, and I. F. Akyildiz, “Multi-ray channel modeling and wideband
characterization for wireless communications in the terahertz band,” IEEE Transactions on
Wireless Communications, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 2402–2412, 2015.
[28] J. M. Jornet and I. F. Akyildiz, “Channel modeling and capacity analysis for electromagnetic
wireless nanonetworks in the terahertz band,” IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications,
vol. 10, no. 10, pp. 3211–3221, 2011.
[29] C. Han, A. O. Bicen, and I. F. Akyildiz, “Multi-wideband waveform design for
distance-adaptive wireless communications in the terahertz band,” IEEE Transactions on Signal
Processing, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 910–922, 2016.
[30] H. G. Myung, J. Lim, and D. J. Goodman, “Single carrier fdma for uplink wireless
transmission,” IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 30–38, 2006.
[31] H. Wang et al., “Power amplifiers performance survey 2000-present.” [Online]. Available:
https://gems.ece.gatech.edu/PA survey.html
[32] Y. Wu, C. Han, and T. Yang, “DFT-Spread Orthogonal Time Frequency Space Modulation
Design for Terahertz Communications“, in Proc. of IEEE Global Communications Conference
(GLOBECOM), Madrid, Spain, December 2021

[33] Huseyin Arslan, “Multi-Numerology Systems for 5G and Beyond RAN,” Prof. Dr. Hüseyin
Arslan,huseyinarslan@medipol.edu.tr,http://cosinc.medipol.edu.tr,
http://iswcs2018.org/docs/ISWCS%202018%20-%20T2.pdf

[34] A. Yazar, H. Arslan, “A Flexibility Metric and Optimization Methods for Mixed
Numerologiesin 5G and Beyond,” IEEE Access, 6(1), 3755-3764, Feb. 2018.
[35] T Levanen，K Pajukoski，J Hulkkonen，P Wainio，M Valkama 5G New Radio Evolution

71
Towards Sub-THz Communications
[36] Liu J, Khan Z U, Sarjoghian S. Layered THz waveguides for SPPs, filter and sensor
application [J]. Journal of Optics, 2019, 48(5015)
[37] K. Wu, et al., “Multiuser hybrid analogue/digital beamforming for massive
multiple-input–multiple-output”, IET Commun., 2016, Vol. 10, Iss. 12, pp. 1464–1472
[38] L. Yan, C. Han, and J. Yuan, “A Dynamic Array-of-Subarrays Architecture and Hybrid
Precoding Algorithms in Terahertz Wireless Systems,” IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun., vol. 38, no. 9,
pp. 2041–2056, Sept. 2020.
[39] L. Yan, C. Han, N. Yang, and J. Yuan, “Dynamic-subarray with quantized- and fixed-phase
shifters for terahertz hybridbeamforming,” in Proc. IEEE Globecom., Dec 2020, pp. 1–6.
[40] L. Yan, C. Han, T. Yang, and J. Yuan, “Dynamic-subarray with Fixed-true-time-delay
Architecture for Terahertz Wideband Hybrid Beamforming“, in Proc. of IEEE Global
Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), Madrid, Spain, December 2021
[41] J. Tan and L. Dai, “Delay - phase precoding for THz massive MIMO with beam split,” in
Proc. IEEE Global Commun. Conf. (IEEE GLOBECOM’19), Dec. 2019
[42] Akyildiz, I. F. , J. M. Jornet , and H. Chong . "Terahertz band: Next frontier for
wireless communications." Physical Communication 12.4(2014):16-32.
[43] Nokia Bell Labs, White paper “Communications in the 6G Era”, November 2020
[44] Zhuo, Y., Zhu, H., Xue, H., & Chang, S. (2017, May). Perceiving accurate CSI phases with
commodity WiFi devices. In IEEE INFOCOM 2017-IEEE Conference on Computer
Communications (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
[45] K.Sengupta, T.Nagatsuma, and D.M.Mittleman, “Terahertz integrated electronic and hybrid
electronic–photonic systems,” Nature Electronics, 1, 12 (2018)

Key Contributors

Company Key contributors

Nokia Shanghai Bell CO.,LTD(NSB) Yang Tao, Song Nuan, Liu Hao
CU Ma Jingyan, Li Fuchang, Zhang Zhonghao
ZTE Corporation Meng Xi, Chen Yijian
Keysight Yin Fei, Cao Fei, Bai Zhiquan, Wen Zhu, Zhang
Haitao
VIVO Yao Jian
Nanjing Nuozhijie Zhang Song
Apple Qiao Xiaoyu

72