Graphene-based plasmonic nano-transceiver for terahertz band communication

Abstract

In this paper, a plasmonic nano-transceiver for wireless communication in the Terahertz Band (0.1-10 THz) is proposed, modeled and analyzed. The nano-transceiver is based on a High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) built with a III-V semiconductor and enhanced with graphene. In transmission, when a voltage is applied between the HEMT drain and source, electrons are accelerated at the HEMT channel. This movement of electrons results in the excitation of a plasma wave which, on its turn, induces a Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) wave on the graphene-based gate. The reciprocal behavior is achieved in reception. The performance of the proposed nano-transceiver is analytically investigated in transmission by coupling the hydrodynamic equations that govern the generation of plasma waves in the HEMT, with the dynamic complex conductivity of graphene and the Maxwell's equations. Numerical results show that the proposed nano-transceiver can effectively generate the necessary SPP wave to drive a plasmonic nano-antenna at Terahertz Band frequencies. Moreover, the utilization of the same nanomaterial as in the plasmonic nano-antennas is expected to ease the transceiver-antenna integration and opens the door to tunable compact nano-transceivers for Terahertz Band communication.