Multi-Beam On-Demand Power Allocation MAC Protocol for MIMO Terahertz Communication Networks

Terahertz (THz) communication is envisioned as one of the key technologies to achieve Terabit-per-second (Tbps) wireless data transmission speed. However, the communication distance in THz networks is constrained by the severe path loss in THz frequencies and the limited transmission power, which results in the network deployment issue. In recent years, researchers have shown a growing interest in the utilization of adaptive transmission power as well as multi-connectivity THz communication. In this paper, a multi-beam on-demand power allocation medium access control (MAC) protocol for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) THz communication in distributed wireless networks is presented. The proposed dual-band protocol relies on a multi-beam antenna structure, which utilizes the limited transmission power to achieve multiple concurrent THz connections by applying the proposed distance-aware power allocation scheme and redesigning the frame formats. The simulation results demonstrate the relationship between the number of beams with SNR threshold and average node distance. The results concluded by comparing the total throughput of the proposed multi-beam network with classical single-beam network show that the proposed protocol maximize the THz channel utilization and achievable throughput.

I. Introduction

As the wireless data traffic explodes over the last few years, it is predicted that data rates will soon reach Terabit-per-second (Tbps). However, the forthcoming 5G networks can only provide Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) transmission speed. Confronted with the ever-increasing demand for higher data rate, Terahertz (THz)-band (0.1-10 THz) communication is envisioned as one of the key technologies for the next generation of ultra-high-speed wireless systems [1]–[3].