Evaluation of terahertz channel in data centers

Abstract

Designing data center network topologies with the objective of minimizing cost, increasing bisection bandwidth and decreasing latency is a difficult problem. The solutions in the literature mainly concentrate on wired networks and minimizing wiring costs thereof. Only a few proposals address the benefit of employing wireless communications in data centers due to spectrum and bandwidth limitations of current wireless communication technologies. By using terahertz communication in a data center as a complementary technology, the performance of the data center can be enhanced and substantial savings in cabling costs can be achieved without any throughput concession. Terahertz (THz) band can overcome bandwidth limitations and satisfy a wide range of applications from classical networking to board-to-board communication. In this paper, we evaluate the terahertz channel in data centers by considering atmospheric absorption. Based on the results, we recommend employing 190–310 GHz range with a bandwidth of 120 GHz. Keeping the relative humidity level at 40% will reduce atmospheric absorption while proving a healthy environmental regime for the equipment in a data center.