We studied the idea of harnessing NLOS paths for communication in directional networks at frequencies above 100 GHz. We explore several illustrative transmitter architectures and investigate how these high-gain directional antennas offer both new challenges and new opportunities for exploiting NLOS paths for high throughput highly directional links.
We show that NLOS paths can, under certain circumstances, offer even higher data rates than the conventional LOS path. This result illustrates the unique opportunities that distinguish THz wireless systems from those that operate at lower frequencies.
Additionally, NLOS paths provide a rich and unique set of circumstances for THz networks. High-gain directional antennas can isolate a single path, thus reducing interference. Nonetheless, directionality also results in a higher sensitivity to RX alignment and creates new challenges in designing mobile THz wireless net- works. Employing a leaky-wave antenna at the transmitter offers new opportunities for identifying different NLOS components of the channel and non-uniform bandwidth allocation that can yield higher data rates for reflected paths compared to the LOS con- figuration. This property of THz wireless links stems from using antennas that exhibit strong angular dispersion and differentiate it from conventional antennas, including those operating at lower frequencies.
Publications
- Ghasempour, Y. Amarasinghe, C.-Y Yeh, E. Knightly, and D. Mittleman, “Line-of-Sight and Non-Line-of-Sight Links for Dispersive Terahertz Wireless Networks,” APL Photonics 6, 041304 (2021).