近日，新加坡南洋理工大学的Ranjan Singh及其研究团队取得一项新进展。经过不懈努力，他们研制出用于多链路太赫兹6G到XG无线的片上拓扑波束形成器。相关研究成果已于2024年8月14日在国际权威学术期刊《自然》上发表。

本文提出了一种片上宽带太赫兹（THz）拓扑波束形成器，该波束形成器利用谷涡旋进行波导、分裂和波导相控阵中的完美隔离，具有184个密集排列的谷锁定波导、54个功率分配器和136个急弯。借助神经网络辅助的逆向设计，该波束形成器实现了完整的360°方位角波束形成，增益高达20dBi，可将THz信号辐射到自由空间，并产生可定制的用户定义波束。全硅波束形成器的光激发可实现THz波束的可重构控制。

这种低损耗、宽带波束形成器可实现300mm以上的72Gbps芯片间无线链路和八条同时的40Gbps无线链路。研究人员使用其中四条链路演示了点到四点的实时高清视频流。这项研究工作提供了一种与互补金属氧化物半导体（CMOS）兼容的THz拓扑光子集成电路，用于高效的大规模波束形成，从而为每秒太比特（Tbps）的6G至XG无线通信提供了大规模单输入多输出（SIMO）和多输入多输出（MIMO）系统。

据悉，太赫兹（THz）无线通信具有巨大潜力，能够以高容量、低延迟和广泛的连接性彻底改变未来的6G至XG网络。高效的THz波束形成器对于实现节能连接、补偿路径损耗、优化资源使用和提高频谱效率至关重要。然而，当前的波束形成器面临诸多挑战，包括显著损耗、带宽有限、空间覆盖范围受限以及与片上THz电路集成不良。

附：英文原文

Title: On-chip topological beamformer for multi-link terahertz 6G to XG wireless

Author: Wang, Wenhao, Tan, Yi Ji, Tan, Thomas CaiWei, Kumar, Abhishek, Pitchappa, Prakash, Szriftgiser, Pascal, Ducournau, Guillaume, Singh, Ranjan

Issue&Volume: 2024-08-14

Abstract: Terahertz (THz) wireless communication holds immense potential to revolutionize future 6G to XG networks with high capacity, low latency and extensive connectivity. Efficient THz beamformers are essential for energy-efficient connections, compensating path loss, optimizing resource usage and enhancing spectral efficiency. However, current beamformers face several challenges, including notable loss, limited bandwidth, constrained spatial coverage and poor integration with on-chip THz circuits. Here we present an on-chip broadband THz topological beamformer using valley vortices for waveguiding, splitting and perfect isolation in waveguide phased arrays, featuring 184 densely packed valley-locked waveguides, 54 power splitters and 136 sharp bends. Leveraging neural-network-assisted inverse design, the beamformer achieves complete 360° azimuthal beamforming with gains of up to 20dBi, radiating THz signals into free space with customizable user-defined beams. Photoexciting the all-silicon beamformer enables reconfigurable control of THz beams. The low-loss and broadband beamformer enables a 72-Gbps chip-to-chip wireless link over 300mm and eight simultaneous 40-Gbps wireless links. Using four of these links, we demonstrate point-to-4-point real-time HD video streaming. Our work provides a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible THz topological photonic integrated circuit for efficient large-scale beamforming, enabling massive single-input multiple-output and multiple-input and multiple-output systems for terabit-per-second 6G to XG wireless communications.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07759-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07759-5