Fourth International Workshop on Wireless Communications in Terahertz (IWCT)
Date, hour and room to be defined
Organisers
- Kenta Umebayashi (Tokyo Univ. of Agriculture and Technology, JP)
- Nuutti Tervo (Univ. of Oulu, Centre for Wireless Communications, 6G Flagship, FI)
- Joonas Kokkoniemi (Univ. of Oulu, Centre for Wireless Communications, 6G Flagship, FI)
Motivation and Background
Future wireless systems aim for data rates reaching hundreds of gigabits per second to terabits per second, requiring the ultra-wide bandwidths available at sub-THz and THz frequencies (0.1–10 THz). While these bands have long been studied for Tbit/s communications, cellular-like deployments face challenges related to propagation loss, hardware cost and energy efficiency, deployment complexity, and viable business models. In contrast, sub-THz and THz technologies are increasingly adopted for sensing applications.
Realizing practical and sustainable THz and SubTHz systems requires close collaboration across research fields, from RF circuits and antenna design to channel modeling, signal processing, and system architecture. Emerging technologies such as intelligent/reflective surfaces (RIS/IRS) offer new ways to control propagation and combat blockage, while the inherent high resolution of THz signals enables tight integration of sensing and communications.
This workshop brings together experts from different projects in EU and Japan to present recent advances in sub-THz and THz communications and sensing, promoting cross-disciplinary co-design and international collaboration. The workshop aims to
(a) to enhance synergies and cooperation among experts from different research fields, such as RF circuit design, hardware and channel modeling, communications engineering, and digital signal processing for subTHz and THz wireless communications.
(b) enhance the collaboration between EU projects, national projects, and projects in Japan to enable THz wireless communications in future systems.
Previous editions have already led to successful international efforts such as the GROW-THz project (Dec. 2024–Mar. 2029), and the workshop seeks to inspire similar initiatives in the future.
Structure
The workshop consists of 2×90-minute sessions. The talks consist of two excellent keynotes from top speakers in the world in this field, and six technical talks from experts from the EU and Japan covering various aspects of sub-THz and THz communications. The technical talks represent different EU projects as well as the GrowTHz project and related Japanese projects.
The workshop agenda is as follows:
Session 1: THz Fundamentals & Technologies
Chair: Nuutti Tervo
• opening of the workshop: Kenta Umebayashi
• Introduction of session 1 & keynote: Nuutti Tervo
• 1st keynote (25min + 5min Q/A): Prof. Nuria Llombart, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Netherlands, “Towards Highly Efficient Wireless Communications at sub-THz”. (25min + 5min Q/A)
Technical talks: Each 15min + 5min Q/A
1. Prof. Guillermo Carpintero, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain. “Optical THz Technologies from TERA6G project”
2. Prof. Kenta Umebayashi, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, “Towards Energy-Efficient Terahertz Wireless Communications with Low-Resolution ADCs”
3. Prof. Yuji Tanaka, Prof. Nobuyoshi Kikuma, Prof. Yoshiki Sugimoto, Prof. Kunio Sakakibara, “Development of Adaptive Beamspace Method in Sub-THz band”.
Session 2: THz Systems & 6G Applications
Chair: Joonas Kokkonemi
• Opening session 2 & introducing the keynote: Joonas Kokkoniemi
• 2nd keynote: Prof. Tetsuya Kawanishi, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan: “Terahertz Wireless Communications for Beyond 5G/6G: Long-Distance High-Capacity Transmission Systems” (25min + 5min Q/A)
Technical talks: Each 15min + 5min Q/A
1. Prof. Marko Leinonen, University of Oulu, Finland, “Benefits of millimeter and Sub-THz frequency operations in 6G”.
2. Prof. Koji Ishibashi, Japan, ”Enabling Near-Field Beams and Revealing Their Necessity Beyond Beam Focusing”
3. Prof. George C. Alexandropoulos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece. “SubTHz metasurfaces and their applications from TERRAMETA project”
Closing: Kenta Umebayashi
