For wireless communication, we're all stuck on the same traffic-clogged highway—it's a section of the electromagnetic spectrum known as radio waves.
Advancements have made the highway more efficient, but bandwidth issues persist as wireless devices proliferate and the demand for data grows. The solution may be a nearby, mostly untapped area of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the terahertz band.
"For wireless communication, the terahertz band is like an express lane. But there's a problem: there are no entrance ramps," says Josep Jornet, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Jornet is the principal investigator of a three-year, $624,497 grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research to help develop a wireless communication network in the terahertz band. Co-principal investigators are Jonathan Bird, PhD, professor of electrical engineering, and Erik Einarsson, PhD, assistant professor of electrical engineering, both at UB.
Their work centers on developing extremely small radios—made of graphene and semiconducting materials—that enable short-range, high-speed communication.
The technology could ultimately reduce the time it takes to complete complex tasks, such as migrating the files of one computer to another, from hours to seconds. Other potential applications include implantable body nanosensors that monitor sick or at-risk people, and nanosensors placed on aging bridges, in polluted waterways and other public locations to provide ultra-high-definition streaming.
These are examples of the so-called Internet of Nano-Things, a play on the more common Internet of Things, in which everyday objects are hooked up to the cloud via sensors, microprocessors and other technology.
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