Modeling and Analysis of Terahertz Wave Propagation in Charged Dust Using Extended Mie Scattering Theory

TL;DR

This paper develops a model for THz wave propagation in charged dust using extended Mie scattering theory, revealing significant attenuation effects relevant for high-speed wireless and lunar communications.

Contribution

It introduces an extended Mie scattering model for charged dust and analyzes its impact on THz wave propagation, a novel focus for dust storm and lunar environment scenarios.

Findings

Attenuation in charged dust can increase by up to 50% at 0.3 THz.

Smaller particles show a significant increase in extinction cross section with more charges.

Charged dust significantly affects THz wave propagation in environmental and lunar contexts.

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) band (0.1-10 THz) possesses multi-gigahertz continuous bandwidth resources, making it a promising frequency band for high-speed wireless communications and environment sensing. The interaction between the THz wave and the external environment has been studied for various scenarios. However, it has recently been revealed that the friction forces in dust storms as well as the irradiation of sunlight and solar wind lead to the electrification of dust particles on Earth and the Moon. The THz wave propagation in these charged dust has not been fully investigated, which is essential for THz aerial communications in dust storms and lunar communications. In this paper, a channel model for THz wave propagation in charged dust is developed for wireless communications. Specifically, an extended Mie scattering model for charged dust is first introduced, which captures the electrodynamic feature of the interaction between THz wave and charged particles. Then, the diameter and density distributions of dust particles are modeled, based on which the propagation loss of THz wave in charged dust is modeled and elaborated. Finally, numerical results on the additional loss caused by these charged dust with different sizes in the THz band are evaluated and compared. Extensive results demonstrate that as the number of dust charges increases, the extinction cross section of smaller-sized particles significantly increases, and the overall attenuation led by charged dust increases by at most 50% at 0.3 THz.