The terahertz modem showed a speed of 1.5 Gbit / s

Japanese electronics maker Rohm has developed a chip for wireless data transmission, which in the laboratory showed a speed of 1.5 Gbit / s ( press release ). This is not the limit. The developers are confident that in the future it is possible to overclock the modem up to 30 Gbit / s.

This is the world's first successful implementation of such a miniature device for data transmission in the terahertz spectrum, that is, in the range from 100 GHz to 10 THz. Previously, generators and detectors of terahertz radiation were cumbersome and expensive, such are used, for example, in spectrometers. The Rohm chip with an attached antenna is only 1.5 x 3 cm in size and works simultaneously as a transmitter and signal receiver.

Modulation and demodulation is carried out using a resonant tunnel diode and a voltage controlled oscillator. Data transmission is carried out at a frequency of 300 GHz. According to the developers, such microcircuits can be useful for transmitting high-resolution video in TVs, projectors and computer modems. We add that terahertz radiation has specific properties: it passes through clothing, wood, plastic, ceramics, is reflected from metal and water, therefore, terahertz tomographs are installed in airport security systems for scanning luggage and people .

Rohm promises to start mass production of microcircuits in three to four years at a price of "several hundred yen" (100 yen = $ 1.30). For comparison, the current experimental transmitters in the terahertz spectrum have a size of at least 20 cm ^{2 and} show a speed of at most 100 Mbps. Scientific developments in the field are conducted in the United States and Europe, reports Nikkei.