Antenna Developed that Makes Wi-Fi 200 Times Faster
August 31st, 2012 by James Ayre
A high-performance, silicon-based, cavity-backed slot (CBS) antenna has been developed that will enable Wi-Fi speeds up to 200 times faster than the fastest speeds of today.
The antenna has demonstrated a 30-times-stronger signal transmission over on-chip antennas at 135 GHz. It’s also tiny, approximately the size of a sesame seed, making it is the smallest silicon-based CBS antenna to date. And with the cheap price, there’s not much downside — it’s almost two-thirds cheaper than a conventional CBS antenna.
Dr Hu Sanming, a key researcher from IME leading the antenna project, said, “The novel use of polymer filling enables >;70% antenna size shrinkage and a record high gain of 5.68 dBi at 135 GHz. By filling the antenna cavity with polymer instead of air, we can achieve a flat surface for subsequent processing by standard technology that is amenable to mass production.”
“The team has also designed a three-dimensional (3D) architecture to integrate the antenna with active circuits to form a fully integrated wireless millimetre-wave system-in-package solution with high performance, reduced footprint and low electromagnetic interference,” commented Dr Je Minkyu, Principal Investigator of the Integrated Circuits and Systems Laboratory at IME.
The work was done by the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute of the Science and Engineering Research Council of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Built to bridge the R&D gap between academia and industry, “IME’s mission is to add value to Singapore’s semiconductor industry by developing strategic competencies, innovative technologies and intellectual property; enabling enterprises to be technologically competitive; and cultivating a technology talent pool to inject new knowledge to the industry.”
Source: Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Image Credit: Copyright by Agency for Science, Technology and Research
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About the Author
James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.
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