Researchers working on ‘floating’ antennas for high-frequency 5G networks

Researchers have developed ‘floating’ antennas that can be detached from the substrate. As a result, the small transmission tower should transmit a better signal or high frequencies above 30GHz. That should come in handy with 5g networks.

In addition to a system to detach the array of transmitters from the substrate, the researchers also use a lens structure to amplify signals, RFGlobalNet writes. By amplifying the signal in these two ways, the connection via high-frequency networks, so-called mmWave connections, should be faster and the network should work more efficiently. The mmWave technique is under development to be part of 5g.

The substrate that is attached to the array of transmitters for a mmWave transmission tower causes signal loss, and the researchers want to eliminate that signal loss by ‘floating’ the transmission tower. According to their proposal, which won $300,000 in research funding, they want to build the transmitter array based on a micro-electromagnetic system, while using 3D-printed dielectric layers as a lens.

The grant for the research runs until the summer of 2020 and it seems that their technology will not be ready in time for the first generation of 5G towers. Providers and network suppliers are now preparing for 5g. In many cases this involves networks in lower frequencies, but within a few years the first 5G networks on high mmWave frequencies should also be active.

A mmWave array in the traditional setup, with substrate