WMJ: Components and Systems for THz Wireless Communications and Sensing

Presentation Abstract
In recent years tremendous advances have been made in electronics and photonics device technologies for the generation, modulation, radiation, and detection of THz signals and the time is now right to exploit these advances to build and deploy THz systems. IEEE defines the THz band as frequencies ranging from 300 to 3000GHz, however, for most use cases frequencies extending from about 100GHz to 10THz is considered as the sub-THz and THz bands. The focus of this workshop is on the research and development of components and systems for THz wireless communications and sensing. In the THz band, the available bandwidth is very vast, and this feature can be leveraged for multi-Gbps wireless communications leading to terabits per second throughput in a multi-channel system. Besides communications, THz waves can be used for sensing the reflection, transmission, absorption, and scattering of materials which in turn can be exploited for detecting, imaging, and analyzing materials with high spectral resolution. Furthermore, the wavelength of THz waves is small and on the order of 30 microns to 3.0mm, which along with polarization of the signal can be exploited for precise position and orientation of objects, within a specific location. All the above features are crucial for 6G communications, self-driving vehicles, and industrial Internet-of-Things. Accordingly, the workshop includes presentations from individuals and organizations across the globe highlighting the THz components and systems that they have developed and their application to communications and sensing.