Researchers Unveil Compact Antenna Design Paving the Way for Future 6G Terahertz Networks

According to the Economic Desk of Webangah News Agency, researchers in Singapore, France, and the United States have successfully designed a compact antenna structure capable of managing highly informative terahertz signals.

The research group, led by Ranjan Singh of the University of Notre Dame, suggests that with further refinement, this design could significantly support upcoming 6G wireless networks, facilitating data transmission at unprecedented speeds.

Sixth-generation networks are anticipated to offer data transfer rates approaching one terabit per second in the near future, equating to transferring nearly half the storage capacity of a mid-range smartphone in just one second. Achieving these requisite speeds mandates that wireless systems operate in the terahertz frequency band—frequencies significantly higher than those utilized by current 5G networks. Before terahertz frequencies can be reliably deployed, major advancements in the transmitting and receiving antennas for these signals are necessary.

In previous generations of wireless technology, performance gains were often realized by constructing larger antennas or incorporating complex, active mechanical components for beam steering. While effective, these methods introduce increased cost, complexity, and a higher risk of failure. Without a fundamental reassessment of how data is managed at terahertz frequencies, deploying 6G could become both difficult and impractical.

To overcome this limitation, Singh’s team turned to topological photonics, a field that investigates artificial structures guiding light along protected pathways. By precisely patterning materials, researchers can create compact devices where electromagnetic waves, even when navigating sharp corners, are shielded from scattering and defects. The team engineered a silicon chip perforated with an array of triangular holes of two distinct sizes—99 and 264 micrometers—to harness this effect.

By arranging the smaller and larger holes in specific patterns, the researchers determined whether terahertz radiation would continue its flow within the chip or leak outwards at a precisely defined angle. This controlled leakage generates a cone of output terahertz signals carrying information, effectively turning the structure into an antenna.

The leakage of terahertz radiation at various points across the antenna facilitates both horizontal and vertical coverage. Operating as a transmitter, the antenna can cover approximately 75 percent of the three-dimensional space surrounding it, achieving over 30 times the coverage seen in many existing terahertz antennas.

Critically, the same structure can function as a receiver, capturing incoming terahertz signals across a broad range and directing them into the chip.

During testing, the antenna maintained data rates hundreds of times higher than those achieved by other advanced terahertz devices.

A key advantage is that this performance is achieved using a completely passive and relatively simple design, where the control is inherently embedded within the chip’s geometry rather than relying on external moving parts. This passive approach significantly lowers operational costs and reduces the risk of mechanical malfunction.

Based on these findings, the Singh group intends to investigate how to integrate every element of a terahertz communication system—transmission, reception, and signal processing—onto a single chip. Achieving this consolidation would move reliable sixth-generation networks, capable of managing terahertz signals as easily as current networks handle lower-frequency data, one step closer to reality.

This research has been published in the journal Nature Photonics.