CAREER: Propagation Modeling and Measurements for THz Wireless Chip-to-Chip Communications

自动驾驶汽车、智能家居和/或工业自动化等新应用都将需要云计算，而云计算依赖于数据中心的许多快速计算机。然而，即使在今天，数据中心的电缆管理仍然是一个严峻的挑战，处理器引脚数量的限制正在成为设计更快的计算机的瓶颈。为了缓解这些问题，该项目探索了在太赫兹频率上设计无线链路的方法，可以提供每秒数百千兆字节的数据速率，从而减轻“电缆管理”和“引脚计数”问题。该项目的见解和结果将发展对太赫兹频率无线传播的基本理解，并刺激无线通信和计算机工程的进一步相关研究。位于同一位置的计算机系统（如数据中心刀片和机架）之间的无线数据通信将极大地帮助缓解数据中心中出现的“电缆管理”问题，在数据中心中，许多数据电缆的物理路由会产生气流、可维护性甚至可靠性问题。同样，在计算机系统中，处理器、内存模块、图形卡等组件之间的无线通信将极大地帮助缓解“引脚数”问题，即数据吞吐量受芯片封装上的物理引脚数的限制。然而，这两种环境都需要每秒100千兆比特的数据速率，只有太赫兹无线通信才有可能提供所需的数据速率。另一方面，人们对太赫兹频率下的无线传播知之甚少。该项目的目标是测量和模拟太赫兹波在计算机机箱或数据中心等环境中的传播，并研究这些环境中的太赫兹干扰源和最佳天线阵列配置。该项目将提供太赫兹片对片无线传播的基本知识和理解，以及如何使用它来设计无线通信系统。除了涵盖该主题的研究工作和课程开发的更广泛影响外，该提案还包括外展活动，例如PI继续参与由美国国家标准与技术研究院（NIST）领导的5G毫米波信道模型联盟，并为关键通信和信号传播概念建立一个交互式演示器。

New applications such as self-driving cars, smart-homes, and/or industrial automation will all require cloud computing that relies on many fast computers in data centers. However, even today, cable management in data centers is a serious challenge and limitation of number of pins on the processor is becoming a bottleneck in designing faster computers. To alleviate these problems, this project explores ways to design wireless links at terahertz frequencies that can provide data rates of hundreds of gigabytes per second that would alleviate "cable management" and "pin-count" problems. Insights and results from this project will develop fundamental understanding of wireless propagation at terahertz frequencies and also stimulate further related research in wireless communications and computer engineering.Wireless data communications between co-located computer systems, such as datacenter blades and racks, would greatly help alleviate the "cable management" problem that arises in datacenters, where physical routing of the many data cables creates airflow, serviceability, and even reliability problems. Similarly, within a computer system, wireless communications among components, such as processors, memory modules, graphics cards, etc., would greatly help alleviate the "pin count" problem, where data throughput is limited by the number of pins that can be physically put on the chip's package. However, both environments, require data rates in the 100s of gigabits per second and only terahertz wireless communications have the potential to provide the required data rates. On the other hand, very little is known about wireless propagation at terahertz frequencies. The goal of this project is to measure and model propagation of terahertz waves in environments such as a computer case or a datacenter, and to investigate sources of terahertz interference and optimal antenna array configurations for these environments. This project will provide fundamental knowledge and understanding of terahertz chip-to-chip wireless propagation and how to use it to design wireless communication systems. In addition to the broader impact from the research work and development of classes that cover this topic, the proposal includes outreach activities such as PI's continued participation in the 5G Millimeter Wave Channel Model Alliance, led by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) and building an interactive demonstrator for key communication and signal propagation concepts.