Metasurface Antennas for High Data-Rate sub-THz Wireless Indoor Communications

The 6G paradigm aims at achieving data rates as high as 100 Gbps, thus calling for the development of wireless networks and devices towards the sub-terahertz (sub-THz, i.e., from 0.1–1 THz) bands due to the massive amount of available bandwidth, and the presence of atmospheric windows that allow efficient short-range communications.

In this context, sub-THz high-gain antennas are needed to overcome the physical boundaries dictated by diffraction which indiscriminately affect any kind of wave propagation (electromagnetics, acoustics, etc.). As a result, at such high frequencies path loss dramatically increases and highly directional beams are needed to compensate for such losses. Unfortunately, in most antenna systems a gain enhancement corresponds to a reduction of the fractional bandwidth thus limiting the channel capacity of THz wireless links.

To this end, the METASURFANT project between CNR and CNPq aims to find advance antenna solutions that combines the physics of leaky waves and that of metasurfaces with a nonFoster behavior—also known as thick partially reflecting surfaces (PRS)—to realize THz Fabry–Perot cavity leaky-wave antennas (FPC-LWAs) with an unprecedented gain-bandwidth figure of merit.

In this lecture, I will first outline the main objectives of the METASURFANT project to give a comprehensive picture of the envisaged activities, and then provide the audience with a theoretical overview of the most fascinating topics covered in this research proposal. Specifically, FPC-LWAs will be introduced to explain their radiation mechanism and motivating the need for studying advanced solutions (namely, thick PRS). I will then show the difficulties that arise when translating this concept in the THz range as a consequence of the technological constraints dictated by the available technology with a brief comment on the feeding part. I will then show how an innovative application of THz time-domain spectroscopy for characterizing the electromagnetic response of either thin or thick PRS: an essential step towards the characterization of the antenna performance. I will conclude the lecture by identifying the open issues of this research line.

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