SWIFT: Coexisting spectrally-dense communications and passive sensing in directed multi-hop sub-millimeter-wave networks

无线连接和网络在过去十年中经历了戏剧性的增长，在商业、信息访问、交通、医疗和国防方面造福了社会。随着移动宽带无线接入等频谱商业需求的强劲增长，射电天文和大气科学等频谱的被动使用以及全球定位系统和天气雷达等关键的主动非商业服务日益受到侵蚀。此外，由此产生的60 GHz以下的电磁频谱变得越来越拥挤，受到载波频率的限制，即使使用频谱高效的高级调制和多输入多输出空间多样化的网络协议也是如此。相比之下，300 GHz到850 GHz之间的电磁频谱基本上没有分配。这提供了一个独特的机会来利用这一范围的电磁频谱，而不会造成频谱拥挤，并具有显著的频谱致密能力增强，同时设计了一种先验方法，即在射电天文学和大气科学中与无源物质共存。亚毫米波(毫米波)和太赫兹(太赫兹)区域在热发射和旋转振动发射线上都具有独特的丰富的大气成分和分子以及天文科学观测的光谱特征。该项目旨在展示在大气科学和射电天文学中存在被动用途的高数据速率毫米波通信链路中共同设计的物理层和网络层。课程将研究芯片规模的测量、设计和纳米制造，以及smmWave主动-被动通信网络的信息理论和体系结构方面。该项目将把这项研究与各种教育和外联活动结合起来，从STEM中代表性不足的少数群体中招收本科生和高中生。本项目研究了在大气科学和射电天文学中共存的smmWave被动使用系统存在的情况下，定向点对点连接中的smmWave通信链路。为了实现跨层集成，这项研究将检查每一次科学推进中的概念验证测量，以及共同设计的通信传感试验台。推力1号将检查光子-毫米波链路和传感模块，以及集成的芯片级发射器-接收器-探测器模块。窄线宽毫米波辐射对每个通道的高速数据进行编码，定向波束耦合到可重新配置的天线阵，用于动态相控阵波束控制。链路样机将演示四个通道，具有高灵敏度、大动态范围的外差光电混合接收器。在推力2中，将在存在被动用户的情况下检查自适应通信试验台。我们将研究光谱密集比例和每位能量效率，以及对smmWave分子光谱特征的同步被动检测。推力3号将研究毫米波链路的方向性波束控制，以确保无源用户的低干扰。空间足迹、网络容量的基本界限、多输入多输出和传感调度将被量化。将研究一个具有多个来源-目的地和被动用户的扩展网络。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Wireless connectivity and networks have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade, benefiting society in commerce, information access, transportation, health, and defense. With strong commercial demand of the spectrum such as for mobile broadband wireless access, the passive uses of spectrum such as radio astronomy and atmospheric science, along with critical active non-commercial services such as global positioning system and weather radar, have been increasingly encroached. Furthermore, the resulting electromagnetic spectrum below 60 GHz have become increasingly overcrowded, bounded by the carrier frequency, even with spectrum-efficient advanced modulation and multi-input multi-output spatially diverse network protocols. In contrast, the electromagnetic spectrum between 300 GHz to 850 GHz is largely unassigned. This provides a unique opportunity to utilize this range of the electromagnetic spectrum, without spectrum crowding and with significant spectrally dense capacity enhancement, while designing a priori the coexistence with passives uses in radio astronomy and atmospheric science. The sub-millimeter wave (smmWave) and terahertz (THz) regions have unique rich spectral signatures for atmospheric constituents and molecules as well as for astronomical science observation, in both thermal emission and rotational-vibrational emission lines. This project seeks to demonstrate the co-designed physical and network layers in the high-data-rate smmWave communication link with the presence of passive uses in atmospheric science and radio astronomy. Chip-scale measurements, designs and nanofabrication will be studied, together with the information theoretic and architectural aspects of the smmWave active-passive communication network. The project will integrate the research with various educational and outreach activities to recruit undergraduate and high-school students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM. This project examines a smmWave communication link in directed point-to-point connectivity, in the presence of coexisting smmWave passive-use systems in atmospheric science and radio astronomy. To enable the cross-layer integration, the research will examine proof-of-concept measurements in each of the scientific Thrusts, together with a co-designed communication-sensing testbed. Thrust 1 will examine a photonic-smmWave link and sensing module, with an integrated chip-scale transmitter-receiver-detector block. The narrow-linewidth smmWave radiation encodes high-speed data per channel, with the directed beam coupled to a reconfigurable antenna array for dynamic phase-array beam steering. Four channels will be demonstrated in the link prototype, with a high-sensitivity large dynamic range heterodyne photomixed receiver. In Thrust 2, an adaptive communications testbed will be examined, in the presence of passive users. Spectrally dense scaling and energy-per-bit efficiencies will be studied, along with concurrent passive detection of smmWave molecular spectral signatures. Thrust 3 will study the directivity beam steering of the smmWave link to guarantee low interference for passive users. Spatial footprint, fundamental bounds on the network capacity, multi-input multi-output and sensing schedules will be quantified. An expanded network with multiple source-destinations and passive users will be studied.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.