We discuss basic considerations for potential short-range THz communication systems which may replace or supplement present WLAN systems in 10–15 years from now. On the basis of a few fundamental estimations we show that such a system will need a line-of-sight connection between receiver and emitter. To circumvent the blocking of the direct line-of-sight connection indoor THz communication systems will also have to rely on non-line-of-sight paths which involve reflections off the walls. The reflectivity of the walls can be enhanced by dielectric mirrors. This new scheme makes steerable high-gain antennas a necessity. Hence, a wireless THz communication system can not be a simple extension of the existing technology of today’s local area networks. Instead it involves completely new concepts and ideas that have not yet been worked upon.
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© 2007 Springer
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Koch, M. (2007). Terahertz Communications: A 2020 vision. In: Miles, R.E., Zhang, XC., Eisele, H., Krotkus, A. (eds) Terahertz Frequency Detection and Identification of Materials and Objects. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6503-3_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6503-3_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6502-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6503-3
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