Understanding Subterahertz Radio Channels: The Impact of Beamforming on Wireless System Design

Peize Zhang; Mar Francis De Guzman; Xuhong Li; Xuesong Cai; Katsuyuki Haneda; Nuutti Tervo; Aarno Parssinen; Fredrik Tufvesson; Pekka Kyosti

doi:10.1109/MVT.2025.3573093

Understanding Subterahertz Radio Channels: The Impact of Beamforming on Wireless System Design

Peize Zhang
, Mar Francis De Guzman
, Xuhong Li
, Xuesong Cai
, Katsuyuki Haneda
, Nuutti Tervo
, Aarno Parssinen
, Fredrik Tufvesson
, Pekka Kyosti^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

11 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Wireless connectivity in the subterahertz (sub-THz) band, spanning from 100 GHz to 300 GHz, is envisioned as an enhanced feature of 6G and beyond. Due to significant propagation losses at these frequencies, the transmission of sub-THz signals relies heavily on high antenna directivity, realized by beamforming. In this article, we present a newly developed sub-THz stored channel model, and perform a realistic evaluation of the impact of beamforming on sub-THz link establishment and data transmission. Unlike the propagation channel between the transmitting and receiving antennas, the radio channel is observed by a pair of beams. Incorporating the impact of beamforming into measured sub-THz propagation channel data enables to gain insights into the key factors that determine, among others, sub-THz beam alignment strategy and waveform design, ultimately enhancing spectral efficiency.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	49-57
Number of pages	9
Journal	IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine
Volume	20
Issue number	3
Early online date	2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/MVT.2025.3573093
Publication status	Published - 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This work was partly supported by the Hexa-X-II project, receiving funding from the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (Grant agreement 101095759), and partly by the Research Council of Finland (formerly the Academy of Finland) project (Grant number 348980) and the 6G Flagship Program (Grant number 346208).

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Understanding_Subterahertz_Radio_Channels_The_Impact_of_Beamforming_on_Wireless_System_DesignFinal published version, 2.07 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Understanding Subterahertz Radio Channels: The Impact of Beamforming on Wireless System Design",

abstract = "Wireless connectivity in the subterahertz (sub-THz) band, spanning from 100 GHz to 300 GHz, is envisioned as an enhanced feature of 6G and beyond. Due to significant propagation losses at these frequencies, the transmission of sub-THz signals relies heavily on high antenna directivity, realized by beamforming. In this article, we present a newly developed sub-THz stored channel model, and perform a realistic evaluation of the impact of beamforming on sub-THz link establishment and data transmission. Unlike the propagation channel between the transmitting and receiving antennas, the radio channel is observed by a pair of beams. Incorporating the impact of beamforming into measured sub-THz propagation channel data enables to gain insights into the key factors that determine, among others, sub-THz beam alignment strategy and waveform design, ultimately enhancing spectral efficiency.",

author = "Peize Zhang and \{De Guzman\}, \{Mar Francis\} and Xuhong Li and Xuesong Cai and Katsuyuki Haneda and Nuutti Tervo and Aarno Parssinen and Fredrik Tufvesson and Pekka Kyosti",

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year = "2025",

doi = "10.1109/MVT.2025.3573093",

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AU - Zhang, Peize

AU - De Guzman, Mar Francis

AU - Li, Xuhong

AU - Cai, Xuesong

AU - Haneda, Katsuyuki

AU - Tervo, Nuutti

AU - Parssinen, Aarno

AU - Tufvesson, Fredrik

AU - Kyosti, Pekka

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Wireless connectivity in the subterahertz (sub-THz) band, spanning from 100 GHz to 300 GHz, is envisioned as an enhanced feature of 6G and beyond. Due to significant propagation losses at these frequencies, the transmission of sub-THz signals relies heavily on high antenna directivity, realized by beamforming. In this article, we present a newly developed sub-THz stored channel model, and perform a realistic evaluation of the impact of beamforming on sub-THz link establishment and data transmission. Unlike the propagation channel between the transmitting and receiving antennas, the radio channel is observed by a pair of beams. Incorporating the impact of beamforming into measured sub-THz propagation channel data enables to gain insights into the key factors that determine, among others, sub-THz beam alignment strategy and waveform design, ultimately enhancing spectral efficiency.

AB - Wireless connectivity in the subterahertz (sub-THz) band, spanning from 100 GHz to 300 GHz, is envisioned as an enhanced feature of 6G and beyond. Due to significant propagation losses at these frequencies, the transmission of sub-THz signals relies heavily on high antenna directivity, realized by beamforming. In this article, we present a newly developed sub-THz stored channel model, and perform a realistic evaluation of the impact of beamforming on sub-THz link establishment and data transmission. Unlike the propagation channel between the transmitting and receiving antennas, the radio channel is observed by a pair of beams. Incorporating the impact of beamforming into measured sub-THz propagation channel data enables to gain insights into the key factors that determine, among others, sub-THz beam alignment strategy and waveform design, ultimately enhancing spectral efficiency.

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Understanding Subterahertz Radio Channels: The Impact of Beamforming on Wireless System Design

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HEXA-X-II: A holistic flagship towards the 6G network platform and system, to inspire digital transformation, for the world to act together in meeting needs in society and ecosystems with novel 6G services

Aalto Electronics-ICT

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Understanding Subterahertz Radio Channels: The Impact of Beamforming on Wireless System Design

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HEXA-X-II: A holistic flagship towards the 6G network platform and system, to inspire digital transformation, for the world to act together in meeting needs in society and ecosystems with novel 6G services

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Aalto Electronics-ICT

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