The future of mobile connectivity is taking a breakthrough with the development of light-based communications chips. These semiconductor chips can revolutionize our connection to wireless networks, paving the way for the much-anticipated 6G and 7G technologies.
Challenges in Enhancing Wireless Networks
Devices that use 5G networks, such as smartphones, transmit and receive data at different radio frequency ranges. Higher frequencies enable faster speeds due to the greater energy capacity of the shorter wavelengths. However, there is a higher chance of interference and obstruction because the shorter wavelengths pierce through larger surfaces and objects, reducing signal range.
In the US, 5G data speeds average 138 megabits per second, while carriers run the networks on bands ranging from 2 to 4 GHz. The more advanced 6G technology is expected to become mainstream by the 2030s, operating on a higher frequency, starting from 7 to 15 GHz. The highest 6G bands will need to be above 100 GHz or even 1,000 GHz for industrial applications. Its speed is also expected to reach a theoretical maximum of 1,000 gigabits per second.
This means there is a need to build communications chips with higher radio frequency bandwidth and advanced filtering systems to eliminate interference. For this reason, experts continue to advance in chip architecture, where photonics is used in networking semiconductor chips.
Microwave photonics (MWP) has unlocked a new radio frequency signal processing standard by utilizing the inherent broadband and tunable nature of light-based components. In conventional chips, wireless transceivers send data, and microwave filters block signals in the wrong frequency range. Microwave photonic filters perform the same function for light-based signals.
MWP filters play an important role in modern communication and radar applications by providing the flexibility to filter various frequencies precisely. By reducing electromagnetic interference, the signal quality is therefore enhanced.
There have been a lot of efforts to combine photonic and electronic components on one chip. However, achieving a fully integrated chip with effective microwave photonic filters has been a challenge.
New Light-Based Communication Chip
For the first time, experts have developed a unique communications chip that integrates light-based, or photonic components, into conventional electronic-based circuit boards. It demonstrates improved signal accuracy at high frequencies, allowing researchers to increase radio frequency bandwidth dramatically.
The researchers, led by Ben Eggleton, built a working prototype of the networking semiconductor chip that measures 0.2 by 0.2 inches (5 by 5 millimeters). This was done by sourcing a silicon wafer and attaching the electronic and photonics components as "chiplets". Such an approach allowed the experts to improve how the chips filter information.
The study "Integrated microwave photonic notch filter using a heterogeneously integrated Brillouin and active-silicon photonic circuit" offers a blueprint for communications chips required for satellite systems, advanced radar, advanced wireless networks (Wi-Fi), and even future generations of 6G and 7G mobile connectivity. It suggests that more information can flow through the chip more accurately by fine-tuning precisely into specific frequencies at higher bands.
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