A wireless 3 Gbps transmission on the Terahertz scale

Tired of that slow and unresponsive Wi-Fi connection of yours? If so, you would like a wireless “T-Rays” link: a team of researchers working at the Tokyo Institute of Technology reached a new record in wireless communications, transferring 3 Gigabits per second on a 542 Gigahertz connection.

The connection belongs to the Terahertz spectrum, a part of the electro-magnetic spectrum comprised between 300 GHz and 3 THz. While the newest Wi-Fi standard works at a “simple” 5 GHz frequency and is theoretically able to achieve 1.3 Gbps in speed, the Japanese transmitter – smaller than a penny – is the new record-holder for wireless speed doubling the previous exploit (1.5 Gbps) made by company Rohm on a 300 GHz frequency.

The Terahertz wireless data transmission achieved by Tokyo researchers takes advantage of the Resonant-tunneling diode (RTD) technology, where the diode works as an oscillator transmitting EM waves at high frequencies while vibrating. The T-Rays drawback? A fairly short range where data transmission could go on free from interference (10 meters or 30 feet ca).

And if the 3 Gbps record wasn’t enough, the Japanese boffins predict that this technology could reach up to 100 Gbps transmission rates. More importantly, the Terahertz wireless is considered with great interest by telecommunication companies (AT&T in the States, for instance) because the Terahertz spectrum is unregulated all around the world.