The TeraNova platform: An integrated testbed for ultra-broadband wireless communications at true Terahertz frequencies

Terahertz (THz)-band (0.1 THz to 10 THz) communication is envisioned as a key technology to meet the demand for faster, more ubiquitous wireless communication networks. For many years, the lack of compact, fast and efficient ways to generate, modulate, detect and demodulate THz-band signals has limited the feasibility of such communication systems. Recently, major progress within different device technologies is finally closing the so-called THz gap. For the time being, communication testbeds have been developed at sub-THz frequencies, i.e., at or near the boundary with millimeter-wave communication systems. Nonetheless, higher carrier frequencies and their associated bandwidth are needed to meet the demand for much higher data rates. In this paper, the TeraNova platform, i.e., the first integrated testbed for ultra-broadband wireless communications at true THz-band frequencies, is presented. The system consists of a transmitter and a receiver based on Schottky-diode frequency multiplying and mixing chains able to up & down-convert an information-bearing intermediate frequency (IF) signal up to 40 GHz-wide between 1 and 1.05 THz, i.e., the first absorption-defined transmission window above 1 THz. Guided by the experimental characterization of the THz channel in terms of path-loss and noise, tailored framing, time synchronization, channel estimation and single- and multi-carrier modulation techniques are implemented in software and realized by a state-of-the-art arbitrary waveform generator and a digital storage oscilloscope at the transmitter and the receiver, respectively. Experimental results are presented herein to highlight the opportunities and challenges to unleash the potential of the THz band.