Terahertz (THz) band owning the abundant multi-ten-GHz bandwidth is capable to support Terabit-per-second wireless communications, which is a pillar technology for 6G and beyond systems. With sub-millimeter-long antennas, ultra-massive (UM) MIMO and intelligent surface (IS) systems with thousands of array elements are exploited to effectively combat the distance limitation and blockage problems, which compose a promising THz ultra-large antenna array (ULAA) system. As a combined effect of wavelength and array aperture, the resulting coverage of THz systems ranges from near-field to far-field, leading to a new paradigm of cross-field communications. Although channel models, communications theories, and networking strategies have been studied for far-field and near-field separately, the unified design of cross-field communications that achieve high spectral efficiency and low complexity is still missing. In this article, the challenges and features of THz ULAA cross-field communications are investigated. Furthermore, cross-field solutions in three perspectives are presented, including a hybrid spherical- and planar-wave channel model, cross-field channel estimation, and widely-spaced multi-subarray hybrid beamforming, where a subarray as a basic unit in THz ULAA systems is exploited. The approximation error of channel modeling accuracy, spectral efficiency, and estimation error of these designs are numerically evaluated. Finally, as a roadmap of THz ULAA cross-field communications, multiple open problems and potential research directions are elaborated.
Terahertz (THz) communications have naturally promising physical layer security (PLS) performance in the angular domain due to the high directivity feature brought by the ultra-massive multiple-antenna techniques. However, traditional multiple-antenna techniques fail to combat eavesdroppers residing in the THz beam sector, even when the communication distances of legitimate users and eavesdroppers are different. This THz range security challenge motivates us to study new multiple-antenna techniques to provide THz range and angular security. In this paper, we first conduct a theoretical analysi…
This paper considers a scenario in which the Terahertz (THz) transmitter equipped with a linear antenna array wishes to focus its beam to a desired spatial region in the array near-field. The goal is to compute the achievable spatial region and determine how the system parameters such as the carrier frequency, the array dimension and the user's location affect its beam focusing performance. First, based on a theorem from analytic geometry, we show that the achievable focusing spatial region constitutes a rotated ellipse, with the x and y coordinates denoting the range and angle, respectively. …
The scarcity of spectrum resources in current wireless communication systems has sparked enormous research interest in the terahertz (THz) frequency band. This band is characterized by fundamentally different propagation properties resulting in different interference structures from what we have observed so far at lower frequencies. In this paper, we derive a new expression for the coverage probability of downlink transmission in THz communication systems within a three-dimensional (3D) environment. First, we establish a 3D propagation model which considers the molecular absorption loss, 3D di…
Terahertz (0.1-10 THz) communications are envisioned as a key technology for sixth generation (6G) wireless systems. The study of underlying THz wireless propagation channels provides the foundations for the development of reliable THz communication systems and their applications. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the study of THz wireless channels. First, the three most popular THz channel measurement methodologies, namely, frequency-domain channel measurement based on a vector network analyzer (VNA), time-domain channel measurement based on sliding correlation, and time-domai…
Mitigating channel fading and transceiver impairments are desirable for high-speed terahertz (THz) wireless links. This paper analyzes the performance of a multi-antenna THz wireless system by considering the combined effect of pointing errors and fluctuating two-ray (FTR) fading model. We provide a statistical characterization of the maximal ratio combining (MRC) receiver over independent and nonidentical (i.ni.d.) channel conditions in terms of multi-variate Fox's H by deriving density and distribution functions of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a single-link THz link using incomplete Ga…
This paper focuses on the spatial-spectral terahertz (THz) networks, where transmitters equipped with leaky-wave antennas send information to their receivers at the THz frequency bands. As a directional and nearly planar antenna, the leaky-wave antenna allows for information transmissions with narrow beams and high antenna gains. The conventional large antenna arrays are confronted with challenging issues such as scaling limits and path discovery in the THz frequencies. Therefore, this work exploits the potential of leaky-wave antennas in the dense THz networks, to establish low-complexity THz…
Terahertz communications are envisioned as a key technology for 6G, which requires 100+ Gbps data rates, 1-millisecond latency, among other performance metrics. As a fundamental wireless infrastructure, the THz communication can boost abundant promising applications, including next-generation WLAN systems like Tera-WiFi, THz wireless backhaul, as well as other long-awaited novel communication paradigms. Serving as a basis of efficient wireless communication and networking design, this paper highlights the key THz channel features and recent advancements in device technologies. In light of thes…
Wireless communications over Terahertz (THz)-band frequencies are vital enablers of ultra-high rate applications and services in sixth-generation (6G) networks. However, THz communications suffer from poor coverage because of inherent THz features such as high penetration losses, severe path loss, and significant molecular absorption. To surmount these critical challenges and fully exploit the THz band, we explore a coexisting radio frequency (RF) and THz finite indoor network in which THz small cells are deployed to provide high data rates, and RF macrocells are deployed to satisfy coverage r…
The prospect of ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output (UM-MIMO) technology to combat the distance problem at the Terahertz (THz)-band is considered. It is well-known that the very large available bandwidths at THz frequencies come at the cost of severe propagation losses and power limitations, which result in very short communication distances. Recently, graphene-based plasmonic nano-antenna arrays that can accommodate hundreds of antenna elements in a few millimeters have been proposed. While such arrays enable efficient beamforming that can increase the communication range, they fail …
This paper provides an analysis of radio wave scattering for frequencies ranging from the microwave to the Terahertz band (e.g., 1 GHz - 1 THz), by studying the scattering power reradiated from various types of materials with different surface roughnesses. First, fundamentals of scattering and reflection are developed and explained for use in wireless mobile radio, and the effect of scattering on the reflection coefficient for rough surfaces is investigated. Received power is derived using two popular scattering models - the directive scattering (DS) model and the radar cross section (RCS) mod…
Communications in the terahertz band (THz) (0.1--10~THz) have been regarded as a promising technology for future 6G and beyond wireless systems, to overcome the challenges of evergrowing wireless data traffic and crowded spectrum. As the frequency increases from the microwave band to the THz band, new spectrum features pose unprecedented challenges to wireless communication system design. The molecular absorption effect is one of the new THz spectrum properties, which enlarges the path loss and noise at specific frequencies. This brings in a double-edged sword for THz wireless communication sy…
This paper demonstrates how spectrum up to 1 THz will support mobile communications beyond 5G in the coming decades. Results of rooftop surrogate satellite/tower base station measurements at 140 GHz show the natural isolation between terrestrial networks and surrogate satellite systems, as well as between terrestrial mobile users and co-channel fixed backhaul links. These first-of-their-kind measurements and accompanying analysis show that by keeping the energy radiated by terrestrial emitters on the horizon (e.g., elevation angles $\leq$15\textdegree), there will not likely be interference in…
Using tools from stochastic geometry, this paper develops a tractable framework to analyze the performance of a mobile user in a two-tier wireless network operating on sub-6GHz and terahertz (THz) transmission frequencies. Specifically, using an equivalence distance approach, we characterize the overall handoff (HO) probability in terms of the horizontal and vertical HO and mobility-aware coverage probability. In addition, we characterize novel coverage probability expressions for THz network in the presence of molecular absorption noise and highlight its significant impact on the users' perfo…
Although terahertz (THz) communications can provide mobile broadband services, it usually has a large path loss and is vulnerable to antenna misalignment. This significantly degrades the reception reliability. To address this issue, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is proposed to further enhance the reliability of THz communications. This paper provides an in-depth investigation on the outage performance of two different types of HARQ-aided THz communications, including Type-I HARQ and HARQ with chase combining (HARQ-CC). Moreover, the effects of both fading and stochastic antenna mi…
Employing massively distributed antennas brings radio access points (RAPs) closer to users, thus enables aggressive spectrum reuse that can bridge gaps between the scarce spectrum resource and extremely high connection densities in future wireless systems. Examples include cloud radio access network (C-RAN), ultra-dense network (UDN), and cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. These systems are usually designed in the form of fiber-wireless communications (FWC), where distributed antennas or RAPs are connected to a central unit (CU) through optical front-hauls. A larg…
Wireless communication at the terahertz (THz) frequency bands (0.1-10THz) is viewed as one of the cornerstones of tomorrow's 6G wireless systems. Owing to the large amount of available bandwidth, THz frequencies can potentially provide wireless capacity performance gains and enable high-resolution sensing. However, operating a wireless system at the THz-band is limited by a highly uncertain channel. Effectively, these channel limitations lead to unreliable intermittent links as a result of a short communication range, and a high susceptibility to blockage and molecular absorption. Consequently…
Future wireless services, such as the metaverse require high information rate, reliability, and low latency. Multi-user wireless systems can meet such requirements by utilizing the abundant terahertz bandwidth with a massive number of antennas, creating narrow beamforming solutions. However, existing solutions lack proper modeling of channel dynamics, resulting in inaccurate beamforming solutions in high-mobility scenarios. Herein, a dynamic, semantically aware beamforming solution is proposed for the first time, utilizing novel artificial intelligence algorithms in variational causal inferenc…
With the explosive growth of mobile traffic demand, densely deployed small cells underlying macrocells have great potential for 5G and beyond wireless networks. In this paper, we consider the problem of supporting traffic flows with diverse QoS requirements by exploiting three high frequency bands, i.e., the 28GHz band, the E-band, and the Terahertz (THz) band. The cooperation of the three bands is helpful for maximizing the number of flows with their QoS requirements satisfied. To solve the formulated nonlinear integer programming problem, we propose a triple-band scheduling scheme which can …
Covert communication hides the transmission of a message from a watchful adversary while ensuring reliable information decoding at the receiver, providing enhanced security in wireless communications. In this letter, covert communication in the presence of a multi-antenna adversary and under delay constraints is considered. Under the assumption of quasi-static wireless fading channels, we analyze the effect of increasing the number of antennas employed at the adversary on the achievable throughput of covert communication. It is shown that in contrast to a single-antenna adversary, a slight inc…
We are interested in high data rates internet access, by the mean of LTE based wireless networks. In the aim to improve performance of wireless networks, we propose an approach focused on the use of UE equipped by directional receiving antennas. Indeed, these antennas allow to mitigate the interference and to improve the link budget. Therefore, the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) can be improved, and consequently the performance and quality of service (QoS), too. We establish the analytical expression of the SINR reached by a user with directional antenna, whatever its location.…
Although Terahertz communication systems can provide high data rates, it needs high directional beamforming at transmitters and receivers to achieve such rates over a long distance. Therefore, an efficient beam training method is vital to accelerate the link establishment. In this study, we propose a low-complexity beam training scheme of terahertz communication system which uses a low-cost small-scale hybrid architecture to assist a large-scale array for data transmission. The proposed scheme includes two key stages: (1) coarse AoAs/AoDs estimation for beam subset optimization in auxiliary ar…
With the standardization of 5G, commercial millimeter wave (mmWave) communications has become a reality despite all the concerns about the unfavorable propagation characteristics of these frequencies. Even though the 5G systems are still being rolled out, it is argued that their gigabits per second rates may fall short in supporting many emerging applications, such as 3D gaming and extended reality. Such applications will require several hundreds of gigabits per second to several terabits per second data rates with low latency and high reliability, which are expected to be the design goals of …
Future wireless cellular networks will utilize millimeter-wave and sub-THz frequencies and deploy small-cell base stations to achieve data rates on the order of hundreds of Gigabits per second per user. The move to sub-THz frequencies will require attention to sustainability and reduction of power whenever possible to reduce the carbon footprint while maintaining adequate battery life for the massive number of resource-constrained devices to be deployed. This article analyzes power consumption of future wireless networks using a new metric, the power waste factor ($ W $), which shows promise f…
In this paper, we consider a two-way or bidirectional communications system with a relay equipped with multiple antennas. We show that when the downlink channel state information is not known at the relay, the benefit of having additional antennas at the relay can only be obtained by using decode and forward (DF) but not amplify and forward (AF). The gain becomes significant when we employ transmit diversity together with wireless network coding. We also demonstrate how the performance of such system can be improved by performing antenna selection at the relay. Our results show that if downlin…
This paper investigates the impact of the channel state information (CSI) and antenna correlation at the multi-antenna relay on the performance of wireless powered dual-hop amplify-and-forward relaying systems. Depending on the available CSI at the relay, two different scenarios are considered, namely, instantaneous CSI and statistical CSI where the relay has access only to the antenna correlation matrix. Adopting the power-splitting architecture, we present a detailed performance study for both cases. Closed-form analytical expressions are derived for the outage probability and ergodic capaci…
Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) is a promising solution to increase the lifetime of wireless nodes and hence alleviate the energy bottleneck of energy constrained wireless networks. As an alternative to conventional energy harvesting techniques, SWIPT relies on the use of radio frequency signals, and is expected to bring some fundamental changes to the design of wireless communication networks. This article focuses on the application of advanced smart antenna technologies, including multiple-input multiple-output and relaying techniques, to SWIPT. These smart anten…
The spectral efficiency of a representative uplink of a given length, in interference-limited, spatially-distributed wireless networks with hexagonal cells, simple power control, and multiantenna linear Minimum-Mean-Square-Error receivers is found to approach an asymptote as the numbers of base-station antennas N and wireless nodes go to infinity. An approximation for the area-averaged spectral efficiency of a representative link (averaged over the spatial base-station and mobile distributions), for Poisson distributed base stations, is also provided. For large N, in the interference-limited r…
Small-cell cellular base stations are going to be used for mmWave and sub-THz communication systems to provide multi-Gbps data rates and reliable coverage to mobile users. This paper analyzes the base station coverage of sub-THz communication systems and the system performance in terms of spectral efficiency through Monte Carlo simulations for both single-cell and multi-cell cases. The simulations are based on realistic channel models derived from outdoor field measurements at 142 GHz in urban microcell (UMi) environments conducted in downtown Brooklyn, New York. The single-cell base station c…
We propose a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme for terahertz (THz) frequency applications operating at room temperature. Motivated by classical MIMO communications, a transmit-receive beamforming scheme is proposed that converts the rank-$r$ MIMO channel between Alice and Bob into $r$ parallel lossy quantum channels. Compared with existing single-antenna QKD schemes, we demonstrate that the MIMO QKD scheme leads to performance improvements by increasing the secret key rate and extending the transmission distance. Our simulation results show that multip…
With growing popularity of mobile Internet, providing secure wireless services has become a critical issue. Physical layer security (PHY-security) has been recognized as an effective means to enhance wireless security by exploiting wireless medium characteristics, e.g., fading, noise, and interference. A particularly interesting PHY-security technology is cooperative relay due to the fact that it helps to provide distributed diversity and shorten access distance. This article offers a tutorial on various multi-antenna relaying technologies to improve security at physical layer. The state of th…
To meet the future demand for huge traffic volume of wireless data service, the research on the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems has been undertaken in recent years. It is expected that the spectral and energy efficiencies in 5G mobile communication systems should be ten-fold higher than the ones in the fourth generation (4G) mobile communication systems. Therefore, it is important to further exploit the potential of spatial multiplexing of multiple antennas. In the last twenty years, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques have been considered as the key tec…
Wireless Energy Transfer (WET) is emerging as a potential solution for powering small energy-efficient devices. We propose strategies that use multiple antennas at a power station, which wirelessly charges a large set of single-antenna devices. Proposed strategies operate without Channel State Information (CSI) and we attain the distribution and main statistics of the harvested energy under Rician fading channels with sensitivity and saturation energy harvesting (EH) impairments. A switching antenna strategy, where a single antenna with full power transmits at a time, provides the most predict…
Wireless virtual reality (VR) imposes new visual and haptic requirements that are directly linked to the quality-of-experience (QoE) of VR users. These QoE requirements can only be met by wireless connectivity that offers high-rate and high-reliability low latency communications (HRLLC), unlike the low rates usually considered in vanilla ultra-reliable low latency communication scenarios. The high rates for VR over short distances can only be supported by an enormous bandwidth, which is available in terahertz (THz) frequency bands. Guaranteeing HRLLC requires dealing with the uncertainty that …
Massive MIMO is attractive for wireless information and energy transfer due to its ability to focus energy towards desired spatial locations. In this paper, the overall power transfer efficiency (PTE) and the energy efficiency (EE) of a wireless-powered massive MIMO system is investigated where a multi-antenna base-station (BS) uses wireless energy transfer to charge single-antenna energy harvesting users on the downlink. The users may exploit the harvested energy to transmit information to the BS on the uplink. The overall system performance is analyzed while accounting for the nonlinear natu…
