Tokushima Team Sustains 112 Gbps 6G Link for 27 Hours at 560 GHz
Updated
Updated · ScienceBlog.com · May 18
Tokushima Team Sustains 112 Gbps 6G Link for 27 Hours at 560 GHz
5 articles · Updated · ScienceBlog.com · May 18
27.7 hours of continuous soliton operation let Tokushima researchers maintain a 112 Gbps wireless link at 560 GHz, extending a device lifetime that had averaged about four minutes.
A bonded fibre-to-chip package replaced fragile free-space optical coupling, sharply reducing drift and giving the microcomb the phase stability needed for 16QAM transmission at 28 GBaud.
The photonic setup locked two lasers to adjacent comb lines and generated a cleaner 560 GHz carrier than electronics typically can above 350 GHz, clearing the hard-decision FEC threshold for commercial viability.
560 GHz is poorly suited for distance because water-vapour absorption is about 7 dB per metre, so the 10 mm lab test serves mainly as proof the packaging and photonic approach work.
The team says shifting toward 500 GHz and improving antennas, photodiodes and phase noise could extend reach to tens of metres, pointing to future 6G backhaul radios.
Is Japan's 112 Gbps THz record a lab curiosity, or can it overcome the extreme signal loss to become a true 6G revolution?
Beyond faster internet, could terahertz wireless soon replace all physical cables inside the world's most powerful AI data centers?
112 Gbps at 560 GHz: How Soliton Microcombs Are Powering the Next Leap in 6G Wireless
Overview
Researchers at Tokushima University have set a new wireless speed record by achieving 112 Gbps in the 560 GHz band, marking the first demonstration of 100 Gbps-class speeds beyond 420 GHz. This breakthrough was made possible by using advanced soliton microcombs, which helped overcome long-standing challenges in ultra-high-frequency communication. Conventional electronic systems struggle with power loss and phase noise above 350 GHz, degrading signal quality. By employing microcomb-driven terahertz wireless communication, the team demonstrated a key technology that could enable the ultra-fast data speeds needed for future 6G networks.