Ultrabroadband Integrated Photonics Empowering Full-Spectrum Adaptive Wireless Communications

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel integrated photonic system using thin-film lithium niobate that enables adaptive wireless communication across an unprecedented 100 GHz frequency range, supporting full-spectrum 6G and beyond networks.

Contribution

It introduces a universal, monolithically integrated photonic wireless engine capable of reconfigurable, full-spectrum operation from 0.5 GHz to 115 GHz, a significant advancement over existing solutions.

Findings

Achieved wireless communication over 9 frequency bands with speeds up to 100 Gbps.

Demonstrated real-time reconfigurability for adaptive spectrum management.

Operated broadband signal sources with high stability across 0.5-115 GHz.

Abstract

The forthcoming sixth-generation (6G) and beyond (XG) wireless networks are poised to operate across an expansive frequency range from microwave, millimeter-wave to terahertz bands to support ubiquitous connectivity in diverse application scenarios. This necessitates a one-size-fits-all hardware solution that can be adaptively reconfigured within this wide spectrum to support full-band coverage and dynamic spectrum management. However, existing electrical or photonic-assisted wireless communication solutions see significant challenges in meeting this demand due to the limited bandwidths of individual devices and the intrinsically rigid nature of their system architectures. Here, we demonstrate adaptive wireless communications over an unprecedented frequency range spanning over 100 GHz, driven by a universal thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic wireless engine. Leveraging the strong Pockels effect and excellent scalability of the TFLN platform, we achieve monolithic integration of essential functional elements, including baseband modulation, broadband wireless-photonic conversion, and reconfigurable carrier/local signal generation. Powered by broadband tunable optoelectronic oscillators, our signal sources operate across a record-wide frequency range from 0.5 GHz to 115 GHz with high frequency stability and consistent coherence. Based on the broadband and reconfigurable integrated photonic solution, we realize, for the first time, full-link wireless communication across 9 consecutive bands, achieving record lane speeds of up to 100 Gbps. The real-time reconfigurability further enables adaptive frequency allocation, a crucial capability to ensure enhanced reliability in complex spectrum environments. Our proposed system marks a significant step towards future full-spectrum and omni-scenario wireless networks.