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.