Sub-THz Technologies Towards Ultra-Miniaturized Radio Platforms

Millimeter-sized radio chip platforms, preferably package-less and battery-less, can enable unique applications such as tagging and tracking of small, low-cost goods, wireless sensing and authentication nodes with minimum visual obstruction, and so on. The corresponding shrinkage of RF passives, especially the antennas required for far-field operation, makes the adoption of sub-THz carrier highly favorable, if not mandatory. In this talk, we introduce a set of CMOS-based technologies that power such sub-THz platforms at about 250GHz, including sub-THz to DC rectifier with low input available power, wake-up receiver, and retro back-scatter communications. A few related topics will also be discussed, such as the feasibility and design of sub-THz transceivers pairing with the miniature radio nodes, and how the sub-THz carrier can also be utilized to produce physically unclonable functions (PUF) for enhanced security.