The TeraNova platform is a testbed designed for ultra-broadband communication networks operating in the terahertz (THz) band. It integrates transmit and receive nodes with advanced radio-frequency (RF) front-ends capable of operating at frequencies up to 1.05 THz. The platform also incorporates digital signal processing (DSP) back-ends capable of processing up to 32 GHz of bandwidth.

For transmission, cutting-edge Schottky-diode-based frequency multipliers generate (sub) THz carriers at frequencies of 120-140 GHz, 210-240 GHz, or 1-1.05 THz. These carriers are modulated with broadband signals using mixers based on the same technology. In reception, a similar setup is employed to down-convert the modulated THz signal and recover the transmitted symbols. Directional antennas with gains ranging from 21 dBi to 55 dBi are available across different frequencies. Importantly, the transmitter and receiver are not connected by any wired connection.

The platform currently offers three DSP engines. The first engine utilizes a state-of-the-art arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) with 32 GHz of bandwidth per channel, allowing easy transition from theoretical research to experimental over-the-air research. A digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) with up to 63 GHz of bandwidth per channel is used at the receiver to store received signals for offline processing.

The second DSP engine leverages the National Instruments (NI) mmWave Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform, providing a 5G-like physical layer solution with up to 800 MHz of real-time baseband bandwidth. This engine is particularly useful for testing real-time networking protocols.

Finally, a multi-channel platform utilizing state-of-the-art Radio Frequency Systems on Chip (RFSoC) technology has been developed to increase the bandwidth of the real-time DSP engine. This platform currently supports up to four 2-GHz-wide channels, providing a total multiplexed bandwidth of 8 GHz. It is still under development but will enable the testing of ultra-broadband networking protocols.

The TeraNova platform represents a significant advancement in ultra-broadband communication research, offering researchers the capability to explore and develop innovative solutions in the terahertz band.