First Wireless Video Transmission with Terahertz Waves

The global data highways are becoming increasingly fuller - it's no wonder that wireless means of transmission are becoming ever more attractive. However the current systems, such as WLAN or Bluetooth have their limits: They transmit the data with clock rates of some gigahertz, maximum (a billion vibrations per second). If one wants to increase the transmitted data quantity, then the clock rates must become still faster. Thus the range of the terahertz waves (1000 billion vibrations per second) has moved into focus - at least for short ranges, as for example, within rooms.

However, thus far it has been extremely difficult here to produce and transmit enough transmitting power.

That could change now. Engineers and physicists of the Terahertz Communications Lab in Braunschweig, a cooperation of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the Technische Universität Braunschweig, have now - worldwide for the first time - successfully transmitted a video signal at a frequency of 300 GHz, over a distance of more than 22 meters, and have thus demonstrated that the transmission of user data is possible with terahertz waves.

Terahertz radiation is generally non-ionizing, and is also not expected to damage tissues and DNA - an issue which may make it more acceptable to people who are concerned about radiation and health effects.

Posted to the site on 17th March 2008

Email this article to a collegue

Printer Friendly Version