Allen School Colloquium: Physics-Guided Intelligent Wireless Systems Above 100 GHz

Why It Matters

By delivering ultra‑wide bandwidth and low‑power sensing above 100 GHz, these technologies can meet exploding AI data demands while opening new industrial applications, positioning telecom operators and manufacturers at the forefront of the next wireless revolution.

Key Takeaways

• Above‑100 GHz bands offer gigahertz‑wide bandwidth for ultra‑high data rates.
• Physics‑guided designs use leaky‑wave antennas for directional backscatter.
• Passive backscatter tags achieve multi‑GHz bandwidth with low power consumption.
• Self‑curving beams enable blockage mitigation and around‑corner sensing.
• Terahertz sensing can assess fruit ripeness and robot grasp friction.

Summary

The Allen School colloquium highlighted cutting‑edge research on physics‑guided intelligent wireless systems operating above 100 GHz. Researchers argue that the looming AI‑driven traffic surge—projected to multiply data demand fivefold—requires gigahertz‑scale spectrum unavailable in sub‑6 GHz and traditional millimeter‑wave bands.

Key innovations include leaky‑wave antenna architectures that turn frequency into beam steering, enabling passive, directional backscatter tags with multi‑gigahertz bandwidth while consuming minimal power. Self‑curving beam designs address blockage by dynamically bending around obstacles, and terahertz illumination is used to probe material properties, from fruit ripeness to friction coefficients for robotic grasping.

The talk cited a Vodafone CEO warning that wireless bandwidth could become the next AI bottleneck, with a study estimating up to $1.4 trillion in lost GDP by 2035. Demonstrations showed a leaky‑wave backscatter tag achieving angle‑frequency reciprocity, a terahertz sensor distinguishing fruit pulp moisture, and a robot arm fusing camera and terahertz data to estimate non‑contact friction.

If these physics‑informed solutions scale, they could unlock terabit‑per‑second links, integrate high‑resolution sensing into future cameras and radars, and reduce power budgets for massive IoT deployments, reshaping telecom infrastructure and advanced robotics alike.

Original Description

Title: Physics-guided Intelligent Wireless Systems above 100 GHz

Speaker: Yasaman Ghasempour (Princeton)

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Abstract: The mmWave and sub-THz spectrum is rapidly emerging as a foundation for next-generation wireless communication and sensing systems, driven by its immense available bandwidth and sub-millimeter wavelengths. Yet, practical deployments face fundamental challenges: severe propagation loss, susceptibility to blockage, power-demanding PHY, and the breakdown of traditional far-field assumptions. Unlocking the full potential of these frontier frequencies demands physics-native solutions that capitalize on the unique properties of waves in these regimes. In this talk, I will first present an ultra-wideband retro-directive backscatter architecture above 100 GHz that departs from conventional large-scale antenna arrays and significantly reduces the power consumption. I will then discuss how the migration to higher frequencies, together with electronically large arrays, has extended the Fraunhofer limit from a few centimeters to several meters—placing many users into the electromagnetic near-field of future base stations and access points. Despite decades of progress in wireless communications, this near-field regime remains largely unexplored. I will show how programmable near-field beam shaping unlocks exciting new opportunities for communication and sensing. In particular, I will present AI-assisted self-curving beams that bend around obstacles in the environment, offering a path toward the long-standing vision of seamless connectivity in the presence of dynamic blockages and provide tremendous potential for around-the-corner imaging. Finally, I will conclude by highlighting unprecedented application domains of mmWave/sub-THz sensing and imaging across disciplines such as agriculture and robotics, underscoring the transformative potential of these frontier bands.

Bio: Yasaman Ghasempour is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree from Rice University and her bachelor’s degree from the Sharif University of Technology. Yasaman is the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2026), Zhengyi Wang Prize (2026), Princeton Early-Career Faculty Award (2024), the AFOSR YIP Award (2024), the NSF CAREER Award (2022), the 2020 Marconi Young Scholar Award, and the Excellence in Teaching Award from Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She has been named by National Academy of Engineering (NAE) as one of early-career Frontiers in Engineering. Yasaman is also listed as one of ten rising stars in communication and networking by N2Women. Her research received several Best Paper Awards, including in USENIX NSDI, ACM MobiCom, ACM SenSys, and IEEE WCNC. Yasaman is the co-director of Princeton NextG Industry Affiliates Program. She serves on the TPC of several flagship conferences and is on the editorial board of Nature Communications Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Communications Magazine, and Springer Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves. Yasaman is featured in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History as a change-making innovator in wireless technology. Her research is focused on next-generation wireless networks and sensing systems, including novel physical layer designs and link layer protocols for emerging wireless systems.

This video is in the process of being closed captioned.