California Dreaming: UC Irvine’s New Wireless Wonder Outpaces Optics

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) have developed a wireless transceiver operating in the 140 GHz band, capable of transmitting data at speeds up to 120 Gbps-approximately 15 gigabytes per second. For comparison, the theoretical limit of Wi-Fi 7 is around 30 Gbps, while 5G mmWave reaches up to 5 Gbps.

According to UC Irvine News, such speeds are comparable to the bandwidth of most fiber-optic lines used in data centers and commercial networks, which are about 100 Gbps. The study’s lead author, Jisung Wang, notes that regulators and 6G standards developers are already considering frequencies above 100 GHz as the next frontier in communications.

However, traditional transmitters using digital-to-analog converters (DAC) become too complex and energy-intensive at these speeds-a challenge known as the DAC bottleneck. Instead, the UC Irvine team employed three synchronized sub-transmitters, requiring only 230 milliwatts of power consumption. In contrast, a classical DAC capable of operating at 120 Gbps would consume several watts-unacceptably high for smartphones and other mobile devices.

Peyman Heydari, head of the UC Irvine Nano-Communications Integrated Circuits Lab, highlights that the shift to analog calculations instead of “power-hungry” digital solutions significantly boosts energy efficiency. Moreover, the chip is manufactured using a 22-nm FD-SOI process, which is much simpler and cheaper to produce than the cutting-edge 2-nm or 18A standards of TSMC and Samsung. This enhances the chances for mass adoption of the technology.

Additionally, developers believe their solution could replace kilometers of cables in data centers, reducing infrastructure and maintenance costs. Recent advancements indicate that these energy-efficient, high-frequency transceivers could set the path towards sustainable and scalable 6G deployment, which currently aims to roll out by 2030, offering revolutionary speeds and connectivity options to consumers and industries alike.