We’re not out of spectrum. Let’s talk terahertz

New advances in chip technology could help alleviate spectrum crunch concerns. Thanks to recent research at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Semiconductor Research Corporation, we may soon (within the next 5 years) be able to tap into the terahertz wavelengths that are hovering out there at the edge of the infrared band just before microwave band spectrum starts. This could open up some new options for broadband or even device-to-device communications over very short ranges. However, the primary properties of terahertz wavelengths aren’t going to be for broadband, despite researchers showing off a 1.5 Gbps terahertz radio last year. The defense, security and medical fields are super excited because this gives people the equivalent of X-Ray vision.