6G one step closer with wireless transmission of UltraHD 8K video using terahertz waves

Terahertz waves can transmit more information in less time

A team of researchers at Osaka University in Japan has been carrying out experiments which they believe could eventually lead to 6G wireless communication technology.

The researchers claim that they have succeeded in demonstrating wireless transmission of uncompressed ultra-high definition (UHD) video in 8K using terahertz waves for the first time.

Many research organisations and private firms worldwide have been working on the next-gen 6G mobile communication standard which will replace 5G and allow people to transmit UHD videos over the air with low latency.

Since UHD videos have high data rates, they need to be compressed when being transmitted over the air using millimetre waves or microwaves. This results in significant delays and substantial increase in power consumption.

Scientists are working to develop a technology that would enable wireless transmission of uncompressed UHD video with low latency. They are specifically focusing on terahertz waves - which have a higher frequency than millimetre waves and microwaves and can transmit more information in less time.

In the Osaka study, the researchers used terahertz waves in the 300 GHz band to transfer an uncompressed, 8K UHD video with a data rate of 48Gbit/s over the air. They developed a compact resonant tunnelling diode, which can oscillate at the highest frequency among various simple electronic devices.

To overcome the transmission rate limitation using a simple resonant tunnelling diode, the research team configured a two-channel terahertz transmitter by modulating the output of a pair of lasers in the 1.55-micron wavelength band, set up so that the frequency difference was in the 300-GHz band, with an 8K video signal source using an intensity modulator and converting it into terahertz waves using an ultrafast photodiode.

"Our result demonstrates the usefulness of terahertz waves and is expected to accelerate research and development activities for the realisation of Beyond 5G and eventually 6G," said Masayuki Fujita, the lead researcher and associate professor at Osaka University.

As an example of practical applications, Fujita expects such uncompressed wireless transmission technology to improve the quality of telemedicine and to lead to the advancement of physical-cyber fusion u sing big data of UHD video.

The detailed findings of the research are published in journal Scientific Reports.

In 2019, former US President Donald Trump urged the US firms to speed up development on 6G to maintain the country's lead in the technology.

Around the same time, China officially launched two working groups to oversee work related to 6G research.

6G wireless technology is expected to have big implications in the areas of critical asset protection and public safety, including threat detection, facial recognition, health monitoring, air quality measurements and law enforcement.

Experts, however, believe that it will take at least one decade before 6G wireless technology is ready for commercial launch.