Terahertz Wireless Communications Using SiC-Substrate-Based
Fermi-Level Managed Barrier Diode Receiver
Fermi-level managed barrier diode (FMBD)
monolithically integrated on a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate has
been experimentally demonstrated as an ideal terahertz detector
with ultra-high sensitivity, low noise, and broad bandwidth.
Employing such a FMBD as a receiver, 300-GHz band wireless
communications with OOK and 16-QAM modulations are
performed. For the OOK modulation, error-free transmission
data rates of 32 Gbit/s and 25 Gbit/s are achieved for the direct (envelope)
and coherent (homodyne) detections, respectively. Limited by the
imperfection of the optical light source, a below FEC-limit data
rate of 48 Gbit/s is obtained for the 16-QAM modulation with
the direct detection. Such a high-performance FMBD receiver
promises the applications in beyond-5G communications.