Waveform Comparison under Hardware Limitations for 6G Sub-THz Communications

Sub-Terahertz communication is a key enabling technology to deliver ultra-high rates up to Terabit/s - one of 6G envisioned goals. However, hardware limitation and impairments set practical challenges in realizing real-world networks operating at such high frequency range. In this paper, based on simulation findings, we analyze the performance of different single- and multi-carrier transmission concepts in the sub-Terahertz range under hardware impairments and limitations, both from a today’s New Radio (NR) up-scaling perspective, and whether it is best to deviate from the straightforward up-scaling into a new design. We therefore focus on the following sub-Terahertz network determinants: the signal peak amplitude characteristics, the phase noise of the local oscillators and the quantization effect of the analog-to-digital-converter. Insights drawn from the analysis are considered to make proposals on the signaling concepts for a practical access network design in the sub-Terahertz range. We also demonstrate how further improvement can be harvested considering signal amplitude variation optimized constellation modulation.