“Terahertz Wireless Communications,” published in 2021 by Professor Hojin Song of POSTECH’s Department of Electrical Engineering in the prominent microwave-field SCI journal IEEE Microwave Magazine, has been selected for the 2023 IEEE Microwave Magazine Best Paper Award.

The IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society, which publishes the magazine, evaluates the academic and industrial value of all papers published two years earlier and selects just one Best Paper.

Terahertz waves—one terahertz equals one trillion hertz—occupy an unexplored ultrahigh-frequency band that humanity has yet to fully utilize. Their ultrawide bandwidth has made terahertz communication a focus of intensive worldwide research as a key technology for sixth-generation mobile communication systems, whose commercial service is anticipated in 2030.

In the paper, Professor Song reported the first real-time wireless data transmission system operating at approximately 20 Gbps in the 300 GHz band and its demonstration results.

Drawing on earlier terahertz communication studies, he also identified key challenges for future work, including low signal-to-noise ratios and device and component issues, and outlined future research directions.