Scalable transmissive metasurface targets 5G, 6G networks
Kyocera in Japan has developed a scalable Transmissive Metasurface technology that can redirect wireless network signals in a specific direction. This can improve the coverage area and performance of 5G and eventually 6G networks with smaller repeaters.
Many metasurface materials are under development to help deliver high-frequency millimeter-wave 5G and 6G to places where communication is impossible due to obstacles, but many of these are reflective.
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The 28 GHz band used in 5G networks, and the higher frequency band being studied for 6G, are enable high bandwidth links but are short range and often cannot reach locations where a direct line of sight to the base station is obstructed. Reflective Metasurface materials can be limited in their ability to change the direction of a signal to reach these areas, redirecting at a wide angle.
Transmissive metasurface
The Transmissive Metasurface technology can redirect radio waves at smaller angles to extend targeted network coverage. For example, a large building may block 5G network transmission, but Kyocera’s Transmissive Metasurface device can redirect the signal downward to reach smaller buildings behind and below for better coverage.
The area in which a Transmissive Metasurface can deliver signals is proportional to the size of the metasurface itself. Conventional technologies have been unable to develop a Transmissive Metasurface of sufficient size for practical use, but Kyocera can design any size using its proprietary technology, allowing greater flexibility. This makes it possible to install metasurfaces in more places, such as a home patio or apartment balcony.
Kyocera tested its new Transmissive Metasurface using a 28 GHz band local 5G environment at its Kagoshima Kokubu Plant (Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan). Terminals were installed at two locations: Location A (reception power: -97 dBm), where signal strength is weak due to walls obstructing line-of-sight to the base station; and Location B (reception power: -67 dBm), where signal strength is high due to an unobstructed line-of-sight to the base station through a window. When a Transmissive Metasurface was installed outside the window at Location A, signal strength was -68 dBm, about the same as at Location B with its clear line-of-sight.
Kyocera is also developing a Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) that can create a smart signal environment to change the signal direction adaptively depending on the devices in use. This changes the direction of radio waves by electrically changing the phase of elements on a metasurface.
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