Terahertz Communications Using Effective-Medium-Slot Waveguides

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel substrateless effective-medium-slot waveguide with a taper-free interface, achieving high coupling efficiency and broad bandwidth for terahertz communications, enabling ultra-high-speed data transmission.

Contribution

It proposes a new waveguide design with broadband coupling and high efficiency, advancing terahertz communication technology.

Findings

Achieves 40% fractional 3-dB bandwidth with 90% coupling efficiency.

Supports an aggregated data rate of 0.8 Tbit/s across 14 channels.

Provides robust broadband coupling with enhanced mechanical protection.

Abstract

All-dielectric effective-medium-clad waveguides have been widely exploited in terahertz communications owing to their extremely low loss, low dispersion, and broad bandwidth. In this work, we propose a substrateless effective-medium-slot waveguide. Additionally, we introduce a taper-free interface that allows terahertz waves to directly couple from a metallic hollow waveguide without requiring dielectric insertion. By engineering slot couplers with an effectivemedium channel for impedance and modal matching, the waveguide achieves a fractional 3-dB bandwidth of 40% with a maximum coupling efficiency of 90% in the WR-2.2 band (330-500 GHz). By employing a broadband uni-traveling-carrier photodiode transmitter and sub-harmonic mixer receivers, we achieve an aggregated data rate of 0.8 Tbit/s with quadrature amplitude modulation schemes across 14 channels from 330-600 GHz. The effective-medium-slot waveguide platform yields robust broadband coupling with enhanced mechanical protection, offering reliable interconnects for ultra-high-speed terahertz integrated systems.