Today, many HEP experiments are limited by the difficulty and complex implementation of transfering large amount of data from the front-end electronics to the data acquisition system. Currently wired links are used that generate a large quantity of material limiting the detector performance especialy in the trackers. This limitation is one of the motivations for looking at radial wireless transfer from layer to layer outwards of the detector.
Wireless transmission, which use microwave frequency bands (30-300 GHz) with small antennas (size proportional to wavelength), is an interesting alternative for transfering sensor data, since this frequency range allows very large bandwidths. For 10 years the CEA Leti has been developing systems for high data transmission rates using microwave frequency bands for industrial applications in the consumer market.
Their latest developments at 60 GHz, together with the first studies from the WADAPT-project partners will be presented and placed in the context of their application in the transfer of sensor data in large HEP experiments. Pros and cons of high-frequency wireless links with respect to wired links will be discussed. A roadmap for academic and industrial developments will be presented in order to derive an estimate of the availability of wireless-transmission systems in a 5 -10 years time-scale.
