THz communications

THz CMOS IC

We are developing low-cost CMOS ICs in the 140 and 300 GHz band.

THz antenna

There have been few PCB antenna fabricated and measured in the THz band due to the tight tolerance for PCB fabrication accuracy. We are developing THz antennas with large feature sizes (>100 μm) that can be fabricated by standard PCB technologies.

THz antenna measurement

To measure the antenna radiation patterns, we built our own far field antenna measurement system. The far field system can be used to measure waveguide-based antennas. In addition, we worked with BWant Co. to integrate a compact antenna test range (CATR) and a probe station to measure on-chip antennas. This is the first probe-based CATR in the THz band in the world.

THz metamaterial

We are developing metamaterials to enhance the antenna gain, shrink the antenna size, or reduce the radiation loss of PCB transmission lines.

THz filter and coupler

Metallic waveguides are a low-loss platform for THz components and systems. Micro end mills of 50-μm diameter are often used for high-precision CNC fabrication but they are easy to break and the cost is high. To reduce the fabrication cost, we designed couplers and filters at 300 GHz with large feature sizes so that they could be fabricated by large-diameter end mills.

THz interconnect and packaging

We design the transition structures to connect the ICs and antennas to standard rectangular waveguide ports. In addition, we are going to package the THz ICs and antennas together as TR modules.

Photonic THz source

The THz wave can be generated by mixing two infrared lasers in a fast diode (UTC-PD). This photonic THz source has high frequency tunability and spectral purity. With collaboration with Prof. Gong-Ru Lin, a data rate of 6 Gbps using on-off keying at 300 GHz has been demonstrated.