Title:  THz Chip-to-Chip Communication: Channel Characterization and RFID Tag Design

Committee: 

Dr. Zajic, Advisor

Dr. Prvulovic, Co-Advisor       

Dr. Peterson, Chair

Dr. Durgin

Abstract:

The objective of the proposed research is to conduct channel characterization of wireless data centers and to develop antenna-less RFID tags for terahertz (THz) chip-to-chip communication. Wireless data traffic is increasing exponentially due to the change in the way today’s society creates, shares, and consumes information. Following this trend, the required data rates are expected to approach Terabit-per-second (Tbps) range within the next five to ten years. The carrier frequency used for wireless communication has been continuously increased to meet the high data rates. To achieve the required Tbps data rates, THz frequency bands need to be employed. We propose two solutions for THz chip-to-chip communication to address the aforementioned challenges: 1) THz wireless data centers that can achieve Tbps data rates, and 2) THz antenna-less RFID tags that can further reduce the device size by not using antennas and have potential to attain ultra high data rates. Existing wired data centers are facing challenges such as increased assembly cost, maintenance cost, operating cost, service time, and decreased cooling efficiency due to the usage of cables. On the other hand, existing RFID technologies have limited data rates due to limited bandwidth and have inflexible form factor since the device size is mainly dominated by the antennas. To successfully enable the proposed applications for THz chip-to-chip communication, our proposal focuses on the channel characterization of THz wireless data centers and the development of THz antenna-less RFID tags. The first objective is to characterize THz propagation in data center environments for blade-to-blade and rack-to-rack communication. The second objective is to develop static and dynamic IDs on THz antenna-less RFID tags. Our work will provide other researchers guidelines on design approach and system planning for THz wireless data centers and THz antenna-less RFID tags.