Can raytracing go above 100GHz???

Given that current 6G research is focused on exploring and leveraging frequency bands surpassing 100GHz, is it feasible for someone to simulate a raytracing scenario in this range? Additionally, are there plans to push this frequency limit even higher in future iterations, and if so, when might we expect such developments?

Thank you!

Answer 1

[Sarthak]

Hi Evangelos,

Yes, it should be feasible to simulate a raytracing scenario in the frequency range surpassing 100GHz. Ray tracing models use numerical simulations to predict the paths of rays from transmitters to receivers. On MathWorks documentation it states that "These models are reasonable from 100 MHz to 100 GHz and can compute multiple propagation paths", so it might be unreasonable to go over 100GHz for now.

Regarding the push to explore frequencies even higher than those being considered for 6G, research is indeed looking into the terahertz (THz) band (100GHz to 10THz) and beyond. This exploration is driven by the potential for even greater bandwidths and the support of applications requiring ultra-high data rates, such as holographic communications or extremely precise localization and sensing capabilities.

So frequency limit will eventually have to increase as we move towards 6G. Even though there isn't a fixed timeline for when we can expect such developments but they might come out in future iterations.

I also came accross this library on FileExchange. There might be more advancements on their way.

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/157771-6g-exploration-library-for-5g-toolbox