Performance Analysis of Future Multigigabit Wireless Communication Systems at THz Frequencies With Highly Directive Antennas in Realistic Indoor Environments

In this paper, a simulation environment encompassing realistic propagation conditions and system parameters is employed in order to analyze the performance of future multigigabit indoor communication systems at tetrahertz frequencies. The influence of high-gain antennas on transmission aspects is investigated. Transmitter position for optimal signal coverage is also analyzed. Furthermore, signal coverage maps and achievable data rates are calculated for generic indoor scenarios with and without furniture for a variety of possible propagation conditions.

I. Introduction

Indoor wireless communication systems are expanding fast and the demand for data rates is growing. Extrapolating two decades of growth in wireline and wireless data transmission, data rates around 10 Gb/s will be needed in 10–15 years from now [1]. The envisaged applications encompass, e.g., wireless extension of 10 gigabit Ethernet and also of fiber optical networks for ultrahigh-speed generic data transport or wireless transmission of uncompressed high-quality video signals, e.g., high-definition television (HDTV) or future ultra-HDTV. However, in the case of the current and upcoming wireless communication systems, as wireless local area networks (WLANs) (IEEE 802.11.b, g, a, n), ultra-wideband (UWB) (IEEE 802.15.3 a), and 60 GHz (IEEE 802.15.3 c), the available bandwidths are limited. Hence, an upper boundary is imposed on maximum achievable data transfer speeds. This limit, which depends on link distance and maximum output power among others, is at a level of around 3 Gb/s for the fastest upcoming systems. Hence, it lies far below the predicted future demand. In order to support transmission data rates above a few gigabits per second, larger bandwidths exceeding a few gigahertz will be needed.