Scientists develop enhanced ceramics that could play a key role in the development of high-frequency 5G technology

5G, the fifth-generation broadband cellular network technology standard, is touted to enable ultra-fast download speeds, an end to dropped calls and buffering, and greater connectivity aimed at advancing self-driving car development, remote surgery and the internet of things.

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According to foreign media reports, Michael Hill, technical director of Skyworks Solutions, an advanced semiconductor company, said that in fact, the adoption of 5G technology is still in its early stages. In the paper, Hill and his colleagues outlined emerging 5G technologies and demonstrated how enhanced ceramic materials can play a key role in the development of 5G.

5G has two frequency bands, 3-6 GHz for long-distance links, and millimeter wave bands (20-100 GHz) for high-speed data transmission. The lower frequency bands, which are closer to the 4G spectrum area, present fewer problems than the higher frequency bands required to fully realize 5G capabilities. For example, the type of frequency has to do with overall signal strength. The higher the frequency, the shorter the distance the waves can travel.

Ceramic materials have long been used in wireless communication network technology for mobile devices and base stations. Therefore, enhanced ceramics have been a focus of improving 5G capabilities. Hill's research group has developed a ceramic to enhance a device that is critical to 5G applications - the circulator.

Circulators, typically made of an insulating ceramic material called yttrium iron garnet, are three-port devices that act as a traffic circle, keeping signals flowing in one direction and enabling receivers and transmitters to share the same antenna. To significantly increase the energy density to accommodate higher frequencies, the researchers partially replaced the yttrium with bismuth, a heavy element that increases the dielectric constant of the ceramic. Bismuth also allows the circulator to be smaller.

As the 5G technology race continues to heat up, the possibility that high-power GaN switches could replace circulators shows that 5G technology is still in its early stages. Hill said, "Millimeter wave technology will likely remain in the wild for some time, as one technology may be replaced by another very quickly."