A Frequency-Space Terahertz Transceiver Chip for Multi-Agent Communications and Spatial Awareness

Abstract

Future indoor embodied-intelligence systems require scalable hardware platforms that support both high-capacity multi-agent connectivity and mutual spatial awareness. The terahertz (THz) spectrum offers abundant bandwidth and inherent spatial selectivity for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC); however, conventional phased arrays and programmable metasurfaces rely on dense beamforming networks, element-level control, or external THz illumination, making scalable multibeam operation challenging. Here, we report a fully integrated 208-258GHz 65-nm CMOS THz transceiver chip that monolithically integrates broadband front ends with heterogeneous leaky-wave metasurface (HLM) apertures within a 1.5mm by 4.9mm area. The HLM generates strongly dispersive leaky modes, enabling 75 degree frequency-controlled beam scanning with only four meta-atoms. Co-design of frequency-domain and spatial-domain mixing achieves spectrally clean frequency-to-space mapping for spatial-frequency division multiple access (SFDMA) communication. The THz chip demonstrates multi-agent simultaneous transmission and reception, two-dimensional localization, and sensing-enhanced communication, providing a scalable hardware platform for future THz embodied-intelligence networks.