Routing Based on Wireless Channel Effects for Multi-Hop Outdoor Communication in the THz Band

The demand for high-speed, long-range wireless communication systems has been steadily increasing, driven by the growing need for 6G and beyond networks in applications such as industry 4.0, Metaverse, holographic type communication, digital twins, etc. TeraHertz (THz) band communication has emerged as a promising solution to address these needs, offering ample bandwidth and high data rates. To extend the limited coverage and to ensure reliable and low-latency connectivity, this paper explores routing strategies for multi-hop outdoor communication within the THz band, taking into account the unique wireless channel effects associated with this frequency range, including significant path loss, interference, and scattering. A realistic channel model is developed using a hybrid modeling approach that incorporates both the randomness of the wireless channels, i.e., positions of scattering objects in the environment, and the fixed locations of terminals. By combining simulations with real-world measurement data, the performance of multihop THz communication is assessed in terms of connectivity, delay, and capacity. To overcome the limitations of THz band communication and enable longer transmission distances, innovative routing strategies are proposed for multi-hop communication. Global and local routing algorithms are proposed that jointly optimize routing based on end-to-end latency and path capacity, benchmarking them against standard methods such as the shortest path algorithm and local search techniques. Link delays and capacities are assessed using the established channel model, which is then integrated into the routing algorithms. Our approach significantly improves network performance by taking into account the unique characteristics of the THz band in outdoor applications, resulting in a 30% increase in path capacity and a 70% reduction in path delay compared to the local search method in the scenarios studied.