A 12 Gb/s 64QAM and OFDM compatible millimeter-wave communication link using a novel plastic waveguide design

In this paper, a 64QAM and OFDM capable CMOS transceiver designed for wireless communications in the 60 GHz band is used in combination of a plastic waveguide to realize a 4m link. The plastic waveguide is made of Teflon (PFTE) and features an innovative design enhancing confinement and propagation robustness compared to literature. The first QPSK communication over plastic waveguide is then demonstrated at a rate of 4 Gb/s. It was even possible to perform 64QAM (12 Gb/s) by using scope direct demodulation instead of the receiver chip. Preliminary results also indicate that OFDM communication is possible as well, further highlighting the versatility of plastic waveguides and paving the way to reconfigurable wireless / wireline use cases.