A collaborative team of engineers succeeded in wirelessly transmitting 6 gigabits per second of data— that is, about a DVD-worth—over a distance of 23 miles (37 kilometers), setting a new world record. As with all joint initiatives of epic proportions, the collective bears a very distinct, band-like-sounding named called ACESS (Advanced E-Band Satellite Link Studies).
Led by Professor Ingmar Kallfas from the Institute of Robust Power Semiconductor Systems (ILH) from the University of Stuttgart, the team achieved the notable data rate using highly efficient transmitters and receivers at a radio frequency of 71–76 GHz within the E band, a band specifically reserved for terrestrial and satellite broadcasting. The feat was carried out between the German city of Cologne and the neighboring town of Wachtberg, using stations located between the 45-story Uni-Center in Cologne and the site of the Space Observation Radar TIRA at the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR in Wachtberg.
Signal degradation—the inherent challenge of transmitting data over large distances—was overcome through the inclusion of powerful, efficient transmitters and receivers in the form of fully monolithically integrated millimeter wave circuits (MMICs); MMICs are a new transistor technology developed by Fraunhofer IAF, one of the research partners involved.
Power amplifiers based on the compound semiconductor gallium nitride enabled the broadband signal within the transmitter to be amplified to a high transmission power of up to 1 W while a highly directive parabolic antenna emitted the signal. Detecting weak signals at long distances requires that the receivers use low-noise amplifiers based on high-speed transistors with indium-gallium-arsenide-semiconductor layers, as these exhibit very high electron mobility. When acting together, the system successfully preserved data fidelity between the locales, delivering 6 Gigabytes per second.
If fully realized, the ability to transmit large data quantities over large distances will establish a new generation of network infrastructure that’s well adept at dealing with the increased data bandwidth necessitated by the IoT and all other big data markets. Moreover, terrestrial radio transmission in the E-band is a much more cost-effective solution than optical fiber, thereby improving the ability to supply remote areas with high-speed Internet.
ACCESS was completed on April 30th with the help of researchers from the Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik (IHE) from KIT, Radiometer Physics GmbH, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF. The project has since moved into phase two, called ELIPSE (E-Band Link Platform and Test for Satellite Communication) where to aim is to investigate the next generation of satellite communication systems.
Source: iaf.Fraunhofer.de
Advertisement
Learn more about Electronic Products Magazine
