SoylentNews

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

[...] Optic communications encompass all technologies that use light and transmit through fiber optic cables, such as the internet, email, text messages, phone calls, the cloud and data centers, among others. Optic communications are super fast but in microchips they become unreliable and difficult to replicate in large quanitites.

Now, by using a Metal-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (MONOS) structure, Levy and his team have come up with a new integrated circuit that uses flash memory technology -- the kind used in flash drives and discs-on-key -- in microchips. If successful, this technology will enable standard 8-16 gigahertz computers to run 100 times faster and will bring all optic devices closer to the holy grail of communications: the terahertz chip.

Source: Smaller and faster: The terahertz computer chip is now within reach

Non-Volatile Silicon Photonics Using Nanoscale Flash Memory Technology (DOI: 10.1002/lpor.201700190) (DX)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

FCC clears path for terahertz wireless data

Never mind the possibilities opened up by millimeter wave 5G and other many-gigahertz technologies -- the FCC is already thinking about the next generation beyond that. The Commission has voted unanimously in favor of creating a category of experimental licenses that range from 95GHz to a whopping 3THz -- effectively, the limits of usable wireless technology. The Spectrum Horizons order would let companies experiment with this ultra-high frequency tech for as long as 10 years, and would make it easier for them to sell real-world products while they're in that test phase.

The measure also sets aside 21.2GHz of spectrum to share for unlicensed devices.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Terahertz radiation is used for security checks at airports, for medical examinations and also for quality checks in industry. However, radiation in the terahertz range is extremely difficult to generate. Scientists at TU Wien have now succeeded in developing a terahertz radiation source that breaks several records: it is extremely efficient, and its spectrum is very broad—it generates different wavelengths from the entire terahertz range. This opens up the possibility of creating short radiation pulses with extremely high radiation intensity. The new terahertz technology has now been presented in the journal Nature Communications.

More information: Anastasios D. Koulouklidis et al. Observation of extremely efficient terahertz generation from mid-infrared two-color laser filaments, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14206-x

Journal information: Nature Communications

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Atom-Thin Switches Could Route 5G and 6G Radio Signals

Two-dimensional, atom-thin materials are good for a lot of things, but until two years ago, nobody thought they'd make good memory devices. Then Deji Akinwande, Jack Lee, and their team at UT Austin tried it out. It turns out that sandwiching a 2D material like molybdenum disulfide between two electrodes makes a memristor—a two-terminal device that stores data as a change in resistance. In research reported last week, they've proved a very important potential application for these "atomristors"—analog RF switches for 5G and perhaps future 6G radios.

[...] The key figure of merit for RF switches is called cut-off frequency. It's a combination of on-state resistance and off-state capacitance, both of which should be low in a good switch. Terahertz values for cutoff frequency indicate that a device is a good candidate for an RF switch, and the experimental hBN[*] devices scored 129 terahertz. As part of the testing, the team transmitted real-time high-definition video at a rate of 8.5 gigabits per second using a 100 gigahertz carrier frequency, which they say is more than sufficient for 5G's streaming needs. At this data rate, several movies can be downloaded in a few seconds. They reported their results in Nature Electronics (DOI: 10.1038/s41928-020-0416-x) (DX).

[...] For 6G frequencies, which are expected to include frequencies in the terahertz range (300 to 3000 GHz), the UT Austin team is planning new laboratory measurements.

[*] hBN: hexagonal boron nitride and Wikipedia.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Samsung is planning for the commercialization of 6G wireless technology around 2028-2030, with a peak data rate of 1,000 Gbps (1 Tbps) and a user experienced data rate ("minimum achievable data rate for a user in real network environment") of 1 Gbps (this is set at 100 Mbps download, 50 Mbps upload in the case of 5G):

In the white paper, Samsung expects that the completion of the 6G standard and its earliest commercialization date could be as early as 2028, while mass commercialization may occur around 2030. Both humans and machines will be the main users of 6G, and 6G will be characterized by provision of advanced services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram and digital replica.

Whereas 5G requirements mainly focused on performance aspects, Samsung defines three categories of requirements that have to be met to realize 6G services – performance, architectural and trustworthiness requirements. Examples of 6G performance requirements are a peak data rate of 1,000 Gbps (gigabits per second) and air latency less than 100 microseconds (μs), 50 times the peak data rate and one-tenth the latency of 5G.

[...] The white paper also introduces candidate technologies that could be essential to satisfy the requirements for 6G. These include the use of the terahertz (THz) frequency band, novel antenna technologies to enhance the coverage of high frequency band signals, advanced duplex technologies, the evolution of network topology, spectrum sharing to increase the efficiency of frequency utilization and the use of AI in wireless communications.

Samsung's 6G white paper (PDF) mentions 16K resolution VR, as well as "high-fidelity mobile holograms" and "digital replicas/twins" (basically detailed VR avatars) as possible applications:

Another challenge is sufficient wireless capacity. Note that current AR technology requires 55.3 megabits per second (Mbps) to support 8K display (with one million points), which can provide enough user experience on a mobile display. However, in order to provide truly immersive AR, the density should be largely improved and it will require 0.44 gigabits per second (Gbps) throughput (with 16 million points). In addition, XR media streaming may have similar demands to 16K UHD (Ultra High Definition) quality video. For example, 16K VR requires 0.9 Gbps throughput (with compression ratio of 1/400). The current user experienced data rate of 5G is not sufficient for seamless streaming. It is expected that the market sizes for VR and AR will reach $44.7 billion and $87 billion, respectively, by 2030.

[...] Users will be even able to go beyond observation, and actually interact with the digital twins, using VR devices or holographic displays. A digital twin could be a representation of a remotely controlled set of sensors and actuators. In this manner, a user's interaction with a digital twin can result in actions in the physical world. For example, a user could physically move within a remote site by controlling a robot in that space entirely via real-time interactions with a digital twin representation of that remote site.

Also at Wccftech.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Breakthrough Could Lead to Amplifiers for 6G Signals

With 5G just rolling out and destined to take years to mature, it might seem odd to worry about 6G. But some engineers say that this is the perfect time to worry about it. One group, based at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been developing a device that could be critical to efficiently pushing 6G's terahertz-frequency signals out of the antennas of future smartphones and other connected devices. They reported key aspects of the device—including an "n-polar" gallium nitride high-electron mobility transistor—in two papers that recently appeared in IEEE Electron Device Letters.

Testing so far has focused on 94 gigahertz frequencies, which are at the edge of terahertz. "We have just broken through records of millimeter-wave operation by factors which are just stunning," says Umesh K. Mishra, an IEEE Fellow who heads the UCSB group that published the papers. "If you're in the device field, if you improve things by 20 percent people are happy. Here, we have improved things by 200 to 300 percent."

Journal References:
Wenjian Liu, Islam Sayed, Brian Romanczyk, et al. Ru/N-Polar GaN Schottky Diode With Less Than 2 μA/cm² Reverse Current - IEEE Journals & Magazine, (DOI: 10.1109/LED.2020.3014524)
Brian Romanczyk, Weiyi Li, Matthew Guidry, et al. N-polar GaN-on-Sapphire Deep Recess HEMTs with High W-Band Power Density - IEEE Journals & Magazine, (DOI: 10.1109/LED.2020.3022401)

Related: FCC Will Allow Wireless Devices to Operate in the 95 GHz to 3 THz Range
Atom-Thin Switches Could Route 5G, and Even 6G Radio Signals
Samsung's 6G White Paper: Available by 2030, 1,000 Gbps Peak Speed, 1 Gbps "User Experienced" Speed
Scientists Build Ultra-High-Speed Terahertz Wireless Chip

Original Submission