The overall TERAPOD objective is to investigate and demonstrate the feasibility of ultra-high bandwidth wireless access networks operating in the TeraHertz (THz) band. The TERAPOD THz communications system was developed, driven by ‘beyond 5G’ usage scenario requirements, and was planned to be demonstrated within the operational setting (Dell EMC Data Center) and to significantly progress innovations across the full communications protocol stack.
TERAPOD pursued the ambitious vision of the short-range Tbps wireless connectivity paradigm, by exploiting three of the most promising emerging THz device technologies, namely (1) resonant tunnelling diodes (RTDs), (2) uni-traveling-carrier photodiodes (UTC_PDs) and (3) Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) to enable the development and integration of the building blocks required for ultra-broadband communications in the THz spectrum. Therefore, TERAPOD employed a holistic approach where multiple technologies are explored simultaneously in order to identify the architectures where the advantages of each technology can be fully extracted instead of relying on each of the technologies separately. In fact, no single technology will be able to support the requirements of developing THz transceivers with high speed optical/wireless interfaces and electrical/wireless interfaces and receiver architectures. The vision of TERAPOD project is that, to push the boundaries of the THz communications, the combination and integration of multiple technologies is required and should be explored to pave the way for future Tbps wireless communications. Achieving the Tbps wireless connectivity paradigm requires the employment of very high frequency bands above 300 GHz and up to 1 THz, since the frequency bands currently in use (below 100 GHz) do not seem sufficient to accommodate the predicted future data-rate requirements. In fact, while previous research below 100 GHz has been focused on improving spectral efficiency as well as spatial efficiency (with MIMO and beamforming), the use of frequency bands where ultra-high bandwidth channels are available allows for relaxed spectral efficiency requirements which translates into reduced energy consumption, whereas the capacity scale-up of systems operating below 100 GHz will certainly result in a linear scale-up in energy consumption which is problematic.
The project has four general objectives:
1. Advance the TRL of THz communications components and systems out of the lab and towards industrial environments, within the context of beyond 5G usage scenario requirements.
2. Demonstrate the feasibility of THz communications systems in beyond 5G scenarios through a fully integrated data centre demonstrator.
3. Address the non-technical barriers to adoption of THz communication in the area of Regulation and Standards.
4. Promote scientific research and innovation of THz communications systems in Europe.
