Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF
Success: In the research project Terranova, the project partners have achieved a wireless data transmission in real time with a faultless data rate of 100 Gbit/s at a carrier frequency of 300 GHz. Thus, the first application of coherent digital signal processing (DSP) from fiber optic communication to a THz radio link has been demonstrated. This success was made possible, among other things, by a broadband THz frontend developed by the Fraunhofer IAF and a real-time modem developed by the Fraunhofer HHI. Altice Labs in Portugal realized the embedding of the radio link into a fiber optic network.
This technology is a promising and cost-efficient alternative to overcoming physical and regulatory limitations in the absence of fiber optic solutions. Further areas of application of THz radio technology are point-to-point short-distance connections in residential and industrial areas or the connection of fifth-generation mobile radio stations »5G«.
The Terranova project is a European research project funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 program. The main objective of the project is the study of radio transmission technology in the THz band and its connection to optical networks in »Beyond 5G« scenarios.
