THz-to-Optical Conversion in Wireless Communications Using an Ultra-Broadband Plasmonic Modulator
Abstract
Future wireless communication networks have to handle data rates of tens or even hundreds of Gbit/s per link, requiring carrier frequencies in the unallocated terahertz (THz) spectrum. In this context, seamless integration of THz links into existing fiber-optic infrastructures is of great importance to complement the inherent portability and flexibility advantages of wireless networks by the reliable and virtually unlimited capacity of optical transmission systems. On the technological level, this requires novel device and signal processing concepts for direct conversion of data streams between the THz and the optical domains. Here, we report on the first demonstration of a THz link that is seamlessly integrated into a fiber-optic network using direct terahertz-to-optical (T/O) conversion at the wireless receiver. We exploit an ultra-broadband silicon-plasmonic modulator having a 3 dB bandwidth in excess of 0.36 THz for T/O conversion of a 50 Gbit/s data stream that is transmitted on a 0.2885 THz carrier over a 16 m-long wireless link. Optical-to-terahertz (O/T) conversion at the wireless transmitter relies on photomixing in a uni-travelling-carrier photodiode.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1812.04121,
title = {THz-to-Optical Conversion in Wireless Communications Using an Ultra-Broadband Plasmonic Modulator},
author = {Sandeep Ummethala and Tobias Harter and Kira Koehnle and Zheng Li and Sascha Muehlbrandt and Yasar Kutuvantavida and Juned Kemal and Jochen Schaefer and Axel Tessmann and Suresh Kumar Garlapati and Andreas Bacher and Lothar Hahn and Martin Walther and Thomas Zwick and Sebastian Randel and Wolfgang Freude and Christian Koos},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.04121},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
7 pages Main Paper + 10 pages Supplementary Information