Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ULTRAWAVE (Ultra capacity wireless layer beyond 100 GHz based on millimeter wave Traveling Wave Tubes)
Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2021-05-31
Two novel high power Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) amplifiers, one at D-band and one at G-band, has been designed and are in final fabrication phase, to provide transmission power to satisfy the link budget in their respective bands of operation.
A novel D-band MMMIC (millimeter waves monolithic integrated circuit) chip set, antennas, housing, mother board, filters were designed, built and tested.
The G-band point to point system presented a formidable technology challenge due to the short wavelength. A proof of concept configuration has been developed. A G-band transmitter includes a photonics transmitter to produce the modulated signal, a MMIC power amplifier as driver of a G-band TWT, to produce the required transmission power, connected to a high gain antenna. The receiver includes an antenna connected to a new generation Low Noise Amplifier and a downconverter at D-band.
The novelty in combining TWTs of new design with advanced transceiver at D-band and G-band is a progress beyond the state of the art.
The advances in D-band and G-band technology introduced by the ULTRAWAVE project will boost the European sub-THz industry and independence, speeding up the deployment of innovative products suitable not only for the wireless economy sector, but also for other telecommunication systems or applications such as high resolution radar and imaging.
The ULTRAWAVE project has developed new technological approaches, discovered obstacles and the solutions to solve them, established fundamental processes and paved the way for the European independence in sub-THz electronics, born for wireless network, but enabling for a broad range of applications.
The present and future impact of ULTRAWAVE is:
European MMMIC chip set at D-band with performance at the state of the art.
Fabrication processes and facilities for sub-THz TWTs.
Integration and assembly process for sub-THz components up to 300 GHz.
Novel wireless network architectures and networking performance strategy for economy and deployment.
Development of the full radio chain from C-band modem to D-band transmitter.