Bottlenecks and progress of large-scale terahertz phased array technology

Abstract

Large-scale phased array systems are one of the core and key factors for the flexible application of terahertz wireless transmission technology. This paper introduces the development bottlenecks and research progress of large-scale terahertz phased array technology, focusing on the tile-type splicing solution, which interconnects 16 CMOS chips through gold wire bonding to form the largest terahertz phased array transmitter with 64 elements (8×8). The balanced DC power supply network and the "forward radiation + back heat dissipation" architecture achieve good DC supply and heat treatment to ensure the working performance of the array. The peak equivalent isotropic radiation power (EIRP) can reach 35 dBm, the local oscillator signal leakage suppression and image frequency signal suppression are both greater than 35 dB, and the horizontal and vertical directions achieve ±60° beam coverage. This paper also introduces the world's longest distance 52 m terahertz phased array real-time wireless communication link, and the system transmission rate reaches 1.6 Gbit/s.