Surpassing kilometer-scale terahertz wireless communication beyond 300 GHz enabled by hybrid photonic–electronic synergy

Surpassing kilometer-scale terahertz wireless communication beyond 300 GHz enabled by hybrid photonic–electronic synergy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Surpassing kilometer-scale terahertz wireless communication beyond 300 GHz enabled by hybrid photonic–electronic synergy Min Zhu, Yuancheng Cai, Lin Zhang, Jiao Zhang, Bingchang Hua, and 11 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382461/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 May, 2026 Read the published version in Light: Science & Applications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Terahertz (THz) bands are critical for next-generation wireless fronthaul/backhaul applications. However, they face a fundamental coverage range limitation due to low emission power, severe path loss, and poor receiving sensitivity, especially in photonics-assisted THz systems beyond 300 GHz. To address this limitation, we develop a 335 GHz continuous-wave traveling wave tube amplifier with an output power close to 4 W and a gain of over 50 dB, and construct a novel yet simple diversity receiving scheme to improve the receiving signal-to-noise ratio by ~3 dB. Through hybrid photonic–electronic synergy, combining photonics-assisted THz generation, high-power THz amplification, and spatial diversity reception, a record-breaking kilometer-scale THz wireless communication at 335 GHz—a highly challenging atmospheric window—is demonstrated. We first achieve a net rate of 27.84 Gbit/s over a 2.2 km wireless link—yielding an unprecedented rate–distance product of 61,248 Gbit/s∙m—beyond 300 GHz to the best of our knowledge. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical physics/Terahertz optics Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Terahertz optics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information for Surpassing kilometer-scale terahertz wireless communication beyond 300 GHz enabled by hybrid photonic–electronic synergy Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 May, 2026 Read the published version in Light: Science & Applications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7382461","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":504927921,"identity":"31015e66-84aa-4bfe-b8bc-4ada30fb5169","order_by":0,"name":"Min 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