Circuits-electromagnetics co-design: A new paradigm for silicon-based THz systems-on-chip

Silicon-based integrated circuit technology provides a great platform for enabling compact, efficient, low-power, chipscale THz systems for new applications in sensing, imaging and communication. This is partially facilitated by scaling that has pushed device cut-off frequencies (f_t, f_max) up into the sub-THz and THz frequency range, the true paradigm shift in silicon integration is that it provides a unique opportunity to enable a field of active THz electromagnetics realizable through a circuits-EM-systems co-design approach. At these frequencies, the chip dimension is comparable to THz wavelengths which allows novel scattering and radiating properties in a substrate that simultaneously supports a billion high-frequency transistors that can generate, process and sense these signals. The ability to actively synthesize, manipulate and sense THz EM fields at sub-wavelength scales with circuits opens up a new design space for THz electronics. THz architectures emerging from this space are often multi-functional, reconfigurable and break many of the classical trade-offs of a partitioned design approach. This paper provides examples to illustrate this design methodology on THz signal generation with dynamic waveform shaping and THz spectrum sensing.