New developments in wireless communication are advancing rapidly. Although 5G has just officially entered the commercial market, many designers are developing new 6G-related technologies.
Technology development from 5G to B5G:
5G technology has reached transmission levels with a peak rate of 10 Gbps and a low latency of 1 millisecond. Because its bandwidth is larger than 4G, it can connect to many more smart devices at a given time. However, there are still technical limitations in the application of 5G. Therefore, B5G/6G is integrating wireless communication with satellite communication to achieve the goal of seamless global coverage and interconnection.
The application frequency bands of B5G/6G are in the range of 0.1~0.3 THz and 0.1~10 THz respectively, and this frequency band is called the Terahertz frequency band.
Advantages of the Terahertz band:
- Rich spectrum resources
- Peak transmission speed reaches 100 Gbps~1 Tbps
- Indoor positioning accuracy reaches 10 cm / outdoor 1 meter
- Communication delay 0.1 ms
- Ultra-high reliability
- The density of connecting devices reaches more than 100 per cubic meter
- Because the terahertz frequency band does not have the problem of absorption loss in space, it has the advantages of fast transmission speed and long transmission distance. It can be applied to inter-satellite communication and can provide a larger coverage.
Antenna technology is one of the key technologies being developed for wireless communication, to handle radio waves and light waves in the frequency of terahertz. Millimeter waves and terahertz waves are attenuated by rainwater and absorbed by oxygen and water molecules, so they are not suitable for long-distance radio communication. This poses difficult challenges in selecting and processing antenna material and structure.
Characteristic requirements of materials and measuring equipment in THz applications:
The demand for raw materials for advanced packaging and laminates for PCB applications has been rising, and the 5G low-loss materials market size will exceed USD 110 million by 2031. It is estimated that by 2031, key materials will shift from Epoxy and BT, which are the dominant materials, to PI & MPI, PTFE, LTCC, Hydrocarbon, PPO, PPE, PEEK, LCP, and other materials. The required material properties particular to 5G to B5G and even 6G include the following: dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and water absorption. For flexible substrate applications, cost and manufacturability also need to be considered.
The demand for raw materials for advanced packaging and laminates for PCB applications has been rising, and the 5G low-loss materials market size will exceed USD 110 million by 2031. It is estimated that by 2031, key materials will shift from Epoxy and BT, which are the dominant materials, to PI & MPI, PTFE, LTCC, Hydrocarbon, PPO, PPE, PEEK, LCP, and other materials. The required material properties particular to 5G to B5G and even 6G include the following: dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and water absorption. For flexible substrate applications, cost and manufacturability also need to be considered.
The application status of 5G technology:
The original intention of 5G was to develop three major services and applications; eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications), and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications). At present, eMBB has been implemented and applied to the mass consumer market for products such as mobile phones, but uRLLC has few application scenarios and high prices, while mMTC has low and diversified profits.
Potential problems with 5G:
- At present, eMBB is mainly used for data transmission, but immersive eMBB applications have not been practically realized.
- mmW cannot fully meet the needs of mobile communication, and has shortcomings such as insufficient coverage and unstable performance.
- Massive MIMO (Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output) for fixed wireless access is not ideal.
- The power consumption of the terminal device is too high. Telecom operators recommend using the 4G network as much as possible to save consumption on the 5G mobile phone.
The new outline of 6G communication technology:
- A common device for 3G is a mobile phone, which provides email and web browsing functions.
- The device most often used for 4G is also a mobile phone. Through MIMO technology, carrier aggregation, and the use of Unlicensed Spectrum, the data transmission rate is greatly improved to meet the application and service of mobile audio and video.
- The major current application of 5G is also mobile phones. Higher-order MIMO technology is being introduced, and is being expanded to the millimeter-wave frequency band.
- It is speculated that in addition to mobile phones, new forms of 6G terminal devices will be developed. 6G average data transmission rate can reach 1Gbps, and its peak value is 1Tbps. The frequency band may advance to sub-THz, and the total bandwidth can reach more than 100GHz. Possible applications include XR (extended reality), combining AI technology to create a better user experience, and combining satellite and cellular network coverage services.
Evolution from 5G to B5G:
- B5G will continue to improve XR performance, such as giving better mobility, shorter latency, and increased capacity to meet more XR services.
- B5G will continue to improve XR performance, such as giving better mobility, shorter latency, and increased capacity to meet more XR services.
- The introduction of heterogeneous Massive MIMO technology enables the realization of a Cell-Free network architecture through distributed Massive MIMO. With the assistance of terminal devices, the devices are interconnected to form a small network, and the propagation is even more unrestricted.
- The increase in power consumption of 5G communication systems is inevitable, so End-to-end power consumption optimization is important. Power consumption optimization of terminal devices has been widely discussed in 3GPP, and several technical standards have been formulated. It will be one of the first areas to be optimized in the future.
Features of 6G technology:
- Simplicity -
Higher specifications, such as for data output rates, are expected to lead to higher complexity, and under the physical constraints of maximum load can lead to bottlenecks in the implementation of integrated circuits. Efforts are being made to simplify unnecessary complexity in communication system design.
- Fusion -
Will different communication systems, such as next-generation Wifi and 6G, lead to conflicting systems, or can communication and computing technologies complement each other?
- New type -
With the emergence of new services and applications, will mass terminal devices change their form? With the network form changing from the traditional cellular architecture, will network architecture achieve full coverage?
With the gradual development of B5G/6G, the issue of non-terrestrial network communication has gradually received attention from industry and standards organizations. It is often used in airmobile base stations, or as a satellite relay station to connect other base stations on the ground and in the air to the backbone network. We should continue to move in this direction, carry out research and development of technical and operational specifications, and expand the future development of B5G/6G technology.
