E band transmitters with parabolic antenna. The installed integrated circuits achieve particularly high performance. Credit: © Photo Jörg Eisenbeis, KIT
Transmitting the contents of a conventional DVD in <10s by radio transmission is incredibly fast – and a new world record in wireless data transmission. With a data rate of 6 Gb/s over 37km, a collaborative project ACCESS (Advanced E Band Satellite Link Studies) with researchers from University of Stuttgart and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF exceeded the state of the art by a factor of 10.
The team achieved the record data transmission on a stretch between Cologne and Wachtberg. The stations were on 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.
The extremely high data rates of 6 Gbit/s was achieved by the group through efficient transmitters and receivers at a radio frequency of 71-76 GHz in E band, regulated for terrestrial and satellite broadcasting. Only in this frequency range of millimeter waves are the required high effective bandwidths available.The key to the unique combination of gigabit data rates and highest distance are the efficient transmitters and receivers in the form of fully monolithically integrated millimeter wave circuits (MMICs).
The circuits are based on 2 innovative transistor technologies developed and manufactured by the project partner Fraunhofer IAF. In the transmitter the broadband signals are amplified to a comparatively high transmission power of up to 1 W with the help of power amplifiers on the basis of semiconductor gallium-nitride. A highly directive parabolic antenna emits the signals. Built into the receiver are low-noise amplifiers on the basis of high-speed transistors using indium-gallium-arsenide-semiconductor layers with very high electron mobility. They ensure the detection of the weak signals at high distance.
Apps: next-gen satellite communication requires an ever-increasing data offload from earth observation satellites down to earth. Supplying the rural area and remote regions with fast Internet is possible as shown in the trial. 250 Internet connections can be supplied with 24 Mbit/s ADSL. Terrestrial radio transmissions in E-band are suitable as a cost-effective replacement for deployment of optical fiber or as ad-hoc networks in the case of crises and catastrophe, and for connecting base stations in the backhaul of mobile communication systems.
Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 are only in their early stages. They will demand unprecedented aggregated data quantities. Their processing and transmission in cloud-based services is already today taking the communication infrastructure to its limits. In satellite communication as well, the progress in earth observation and space research as well as plans for a planet-scale satellite network are leading to yet unsolved challenges for the communication infrastructure.
ACCESS was finished on April 30 and is being continued in the follow-up project ELIPSE (E Band Link Platform and Test for Satellite Communication). The aim is the next generation of communication systems for the fast connection of satellites. A further application, however, also lies in terrestrial fixed wireless links. http://www.iaf.fraunhofer.de/en/press/press_releases/world-record-terrestrial-radio-transmission.html
Recent Comments