ISG THz Activity Report 2022

ISG THz Activity Report 2022

Convenor: Thomas Kuerner, Technical University of Braunschweig Centre for Digitalization

Establishing the technical foundations for the development and standardization of advanced communications using Terahertz technology.

A huge amount of bandwidth is available in THz bands (identified by ITU as 137 GHz of spectrum between 275 and 450 GHz).  At such frequencies it is possible to achieve extremely high data rates and ease spectrum scarcity problems. 

The small wavelength of THz signals enables the realization of compact and miniaturized devices and antennas. It is possible to integrate multiple antenna elements within a limited form factor and realize pencil-sized beams.

The specific propagation properties of THz signals enable accurate sensing and imaging capabilities and may be exploited for integrated sensing and communication functionalities. Advances in the semiconductor industry and the emergence of new materials are facilitating the realization of THz devices. These include three main fabrication approaches:

• Electronic (high output power)
• Photonic (low noise)
• Plasmonic (energy efficient)

Launched in 2022, ETSI’s Industry Specification Group (ISG) THz provides the opportunity for ETSI members to share their pre-standardization efforts on THz technology resulting from various collaborative research projects and being extended with relevant global initiatives, towards paving the way for future standardization of the THz technology.

The group concentrates on establishing the technical foundation for the development and standardization of THz communications (0.1 - 10 THz).

The scope of ISG THz accordingly covers:

• Definition of target scenarios and frequency bands of interest.
• Analysis of specific radio propagation aspects for THz communication, such as molecular absorption, effect of micro-mobility, specific considerations for scattering, reflections, and diffractions, and considerations for near-field propagation.
• Analysis of data from earlier measurement campaigns published in relevant literature and the performance of channel measurements for the selected scenarios and frequency bands.
• Development of channel models for the selected scenarios and frequency bands.
• Establishment of baseline for THz technology fundamentals, including antenna assumptions, simulation assumptions, and deployment strategies.

On this basis of this scope, ISG THz is dedicated to performing pre-standards work covering the following areas:

• Definition and selection of relevant use cases for THz communications.
• Mapping of selected use cases to relevant channel measurement scenarios.
• Definition of frequency bands of interest.
• Analysis of existing work in the area of THz channel measurements and modelling.
• Specification of the evaluation methodology for THz communication systems.
• Performing radio channel measurements and modelling, including:
  • indoor and outdoor environments, with and without mobility,
  • intra/inter device measurements and models,
  • sounding for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC),
  • sounding including reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS),
  • machine learning (ML) methods to generate and analyze radio channels.