CMOS multifunctional programmable metachip for terahertz-integrated sensing and communication

Metachips are formed by incorporating periodically arranged meta-atoms with on-chip circuits, enabling electromagnetic wave manipulation at the single–chip-tile level and holding great promise for terahertz applications. In this work, we present a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)–based terahertz-programmable metachip and demonstrate its proof of concept for terahertz-integrated sensing and communication (T-ISAC) with array scalability. Fabricated using an industry-standard 55-nanometer CMOS process, the proposed metachip realizes terahertz wave modulation at dual frequencies near 410 and 520 gigahertz in both reflection and transmission (transflection) modes. The metachip array supports multichannel terahertz communication by addressing distinct modulation signals to each chip tile. By harnessing the array scalability, the metachip array facilitates motion tracking of metallic objects while enabling the detection of the terahertz fingerprint material α-lactose against glucose. The proposed CMOS metachip represents a viable pathway toward integrated system-on-chip terahertz hardware solutions for scalable T-ISAC applications.