The demonstration explored the potential of THz spectrum software for 6G wi-fi communications
Samsung Electronics as we speak introduced that the corporate demonstrated the 6G Terahertz (THz) wi-fi communication prototype in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
At the latest workshop on Terahertz communications on the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2021), researchers from Samsung Research, Samsung Research America, and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) launched the potential affect that THz may have on next-generation 6G expertise, demonstrating an end-to-end 140GHz wi-fi hyperlink utilizing a totally digital beamforming answer.
“Samsung has been on the forefront of technological innovation and standardization of 5G and 6G. As we shared in our 6G imaginative and prescient white paper final 12 months, we consider new spectrum alternatives on the THz spectrum will grow to be a driving pressure of 6G expertise. This demonstration is usually a main milestone in exploring the feasibility of utilizing the THz spectrum for 6G wi-fi communications,” mentioned Senior Vice President Sunghyun Choi, an IEEE Fellow and Head of the Advanced Communication Research Center at Samsung Research.
The THz band includes an unlimited quantity of accessible spectrum, which is able to allow wideband channels with tens of GHz-wide bandwidth. This may probably present a method to satisfy the 6G requirement of terabits per second knowledge charge. The peak knowledge charge may be 50 instances sooner than 5G and the over-the-air latency may probably be lowered to one-tenth. These enhancements will allow 6G hyper-connectivity providers and supreme multimedia expertise, resembling prolonged reality (XR), high-fidelity cellular hologram, and so on.
△ 16-channel 140GHz phased-array module (center), dual-channel 140GHz RFICs (left), 128-element antenna array (proper)
The end-to-end prototype system the researchers demonstrated consists of a 16-channel phased array transmitter and receiver modules, pushed by CMOS (Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) RFICs (Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits), and a baseband unit to course of alerts with 2GHz bandwidth and quick adaptive beamforming. In the over-the-air take a look at, the prototype system achieved real-time throughput of 6.2 Gbps over a 15-meter distance with adaptive beam steering functionality on the Terahertz frequency.
Samsung and UCSB researchers have been working carefully on the THz phased array module growth, which is a key to the success of the take a look at. The module requires refined packaging expertise to permit analysis take a look at chips for use in a large-scale array module. The exact digital beamforming calibration algorithm, developed by Samsung, permits these modules to realize excessive beamforming acquire.
△ Samsung researchers: Wonsuk Choi, Shadi Abu-Surra and Gary Xu with the THz proof-of-concept system
“Working together with UCSB, we have been able to overcome many technological challenges and develop this new THz proof-of-concept system to explore 6G use cases and deployment scenarios,” mentioned Senior Vice President Charlie Zhang, an IEEE Fellow and Head of the Standards and Mobility Innovations Team at Samsung Research America. “Samsung and UCSB researchers will continue to push the technological boundaries to bring 6G and THz communication closer to reality.”
△ Professor Mark Rodwell, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
UCSB’s group, led by the Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Mark Rodwell, first developed the 140GHz transmitter and receiver RFIC in 2017, as a part of a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the U.S.
“We bring our knowledge of advanced mmWave technologies, in particular the THz spectrum above 100GHz, focusing on devices and integrated circuits, while Samsung provides its expertise in wireless systems and cellular networks,” mentioned…
