Low-power ultrahigh-speed mobile communication with terahertz CMOS circuits

Terahertz (THz) frequency range has been studied to realize attractive applications such as non-invasive sensing and ultrahigh-speed wireless communications. Although THz electronics were conventionally studied with compound semiconductors, recent miniaturized CMOS integrated circuits enable the operating frequency at THz. It is noted that, however, in order to commercialize terahertz application with CMOS circuits, it is necessary to solve technical challenges, and also to consider inevitable needs requiring CMOS circuit. We believe that the CMOS circuit will open up a future portable system with low power consumption even in the terahertz frequency range. To realize it, low power and high speed operation is simultaneously required. In this paper, how to balance the high-speed operation and low power consumption in a CMOS circuit is discussed, and low-power high-speed wireless communication in THz will be demonstrated.