THz wave manipulation for ultra-high speed telecommunications circuits

The revolutionary 5G cellular systems represent a breakthrough in the communication network. However, the ongoing massive deployment of 5G networks has unveiled inherent limitations that have stimulated the demand for innovative technologies with a vision towards 6G communications. Terahertz (0.1-10 THz) technology is identified as a critical enabler for 6G. Especially, the 300 GHz band is deeply investigated.

A new class of phototunable devices, using on-chip topological terahertz devices consisting of a broadband single-channel 160 Gbit/s communication link and a silicon Valley Photonic Crystal based demultiplexer has been demonstrated. As a proof of concept, the demultiplexing of high spectral efficiency 40 Gbit/s signals and real-time streaming of uncompressed high-definition (HD) video (1.5 Gbit/s) using the topological photonic chip, including an optical control has been reached, paving the way to optically controlled THz channels manipulation.

Phototunable chip-scale topological photonics : 160 Gbps waveguide and demultiplexer for THz 6G communication Nat Commun 13, 5404 (2022). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32909-6