Title:  Physical Layer Solutions for Ultra-broadband Wireless Communications in the Terahertz Band

Committee:

Dr. Akyildiz , Advisor

Dr. Geoffrey Li, ECE

Dr. Mary Ann Weitnauer, ECE

Dr. Ragupathy Sivakumar, ECE

Dr. Josep Miquel Jornet, Univ of Buffalo

Abstract: 

The objective of the thesis is to establish the physical layer foundations of the ultra-broadband communication in the THz band. First, a unified multi-path propagation channel is modeled in the THz band, based on ray-tracing techniques. The wideband characteriza- tion are analyzed, which include the distance-varying spectral windows, the delay spread, the wideband capacity and the temporal broadening effects. Second, a multi-wideband waveform design for the THz band is proposed to improve the distance and support ultra- high-speed transmissions. Third, two algorithms for timing acquisition in the pulse-based wireless systems are developed, namely the low-sampling-rate (LSR) algorithm, and the maximum likelihood (ML)-based approach. Fourth, the distance-aware bandwidth resource allocation schemes for the single-user and multi-user THz band networks are developed. Fifth, a three-dimensional (3-D) end-to-end model is developed and characterized, which includes the responses of the graphene-based reflectarray antenna and the 3-D multi-path propagation.