A wafer-integrated 6G antenna that integrates antennas and RF switches on a semiconductor wafer. Potential applications including satellite communications and autonomous driving are shown. Credit: Seoul National University College of Engineering
For the first time, researchers have developed a technology that could enable 6G antennas to be mass-produced on wafers in much the same way as semiconductor devices.
A research team led by Professor Jungsuek Oh of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University College of Engineering has developed the world's first wafer-integrated 6G beamforming antenna technology, dubbed STARE, in which antennas and RF semiconductor switches that control the direction of radio waves are fabricated simultaneously on a single wafer.
Conventionally, antennas and the RF semiconductor chips that control electromagnetic waves have had to be fabricated separately and then assembled. The SNU team, however, succeeded in integrating both functions within a single wafer. Much like combining a washing machine and dryer into a single appliance, the new approach makes it possible to manufacture two previously separate components through a single semiconductor fabrication process. The technology lays the groundwork for producing the ultra-high-density antenna arrays required for 6G and satellite communications in smaller, more cost-effective form factors.
