NIST developing tools, methods for higher frequencies as mobile broadband demand rises
February 22, 2015 | By Dibya Sarkar
Researchers at the National Institute for Standards and Technology are developing tools and methods that provide better measurements for wireless channels at higher frequencies, which can significantly boost bandwidth and capacity for smartphone and tablet users.
While most mobile devices now operate below 3 gigahertz, NIST said that some "are starting to use fast silicon-germanium radio chips operated at millimeter wavelengths above 10 GHz." NIST and others may even look at wavelengths higher than 100 GHz.
This part of the spectrum can help ease the demand for greater bandwidth, boost capacity and improve service, especially as more and more consumer devices are connect to the Internet – a phenomenon known as the Internet of Things.
"We want to provide U.S. industry with the precision measurement methods needed to develop innovative millimeter-wave wireless technologies and associated standards," said NIST project coordinator Kate Remley in a Feb. 18 press release. "This work can advance the state of the art in telecommunications and help meet the expected increases in demand for wireless capacity."
However, NIST said the current measurement methods for the higher frequencies are "incomplete" and that new, more precise test methods and tools are needed to enhance device performance.
The release said that since high-speed digital circuits can distort such wave signals, "even tiny errors can result in erroneous bits of information." It added that one possible solution could be complex antenna arrays that could strengthen signals and result in less interference to other nearby devices.
So far, NIST has developed a calibrated signal source – based on commercially available parts – to test millimeter wave instruments such as receivers and other devices. This will "support modeling of mm wave communications channels in indoor and outdoor environments," according to the release.
The signal source, which was demonstrated at the 44 GHz and 94 GHz frequencies, was funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said NIST.
For more:
- read the NIST press release
- read the NIST press release
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