FuSe-TG: Towards TeraCity in South Texas: Sub-TeraHertz City-scale Wireless Networks

Sub-THz, which is usually defined as the spectrum between 100 and 300 GHz, can provide enormous bandwidth with 10s-GHz-wide channels for unmatched communication throughput, and is widely considered to be a promising frequency band for beyond-5G communications. To truly harness sub-THz bands in large-area city-scale wireless networks, we need semiconductor and wireless technology breakthroughs to simultaneously support wide coverage, ultra-large bandwidth, and high node mobility. The goal of this project is to build a team in South Texas with expertise covering different aspects of the communication system design and to investigate key technologies in the sub-THz bands. This project also involves a coherent workforce development and outreach plan to develop a diverse workforce that is critical to the semiconductor industry and address the every-growing talent gap it faces. There are three research thrusts in this project to realize the vision of TeraCity, involving co-design of sub-THz devices, circuits, antennas, packaging, and algorithms. (1) Power thrust: to develop high-power and energy-efficient sub-THz radio front-end. (2) Bandwidth thrust: to develop high-speed high-resolution data converters. (3) Mobility thrust: to develop new beamforming methods to generate highly directional beams yet can track node mobility. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.