Emerging Terahertz Integrated Systems in Silicon

Silicon-based terahertz (THz) integrated circuits (ICs) have made rapid progress over the past decade. The demonstrated basic component performance, as well as the maturity of design tools and methodologies, have made it possible to build high-complexity THz integrated systems. Such implementations are undoubtedly highly attractive due to their low cost and high integration capability; however, their unique characteristics, both advantageous and disadvantageous, also call for research investigations into unconventional systematic architectures and novel THz applications. In this paper, we review the current status and future trend of silicon-based THz ICs, with the focus on state-of-the-art THz microsystems for emerging sensing and communication applications in the last few years, such as high-resolution imaging, high medium/long-term stability time keeping, high-speed wireline/wireless communications, and miniaturization of RF tags, as well as THz packaging technologies.