Features and Benefits
NICTA's 60 GHZ breakthrough technology will revolutionise the way we use technology in the home and office. Networking – without wires- will finally become a reality.
Small enough to embed in consumer electronic devices, the chip can also be produced using low-cost production techniques. This means once volume production begins, the cost of the chip will drop below AU$10 per unit.
The 60 GHz chip
- is more than 100 times faster than current short-range wireless technologies
- allows wireless streaming of uncompressed high-definition content
- operates over a range of 10 metres without interference
- operates in the unlicensed 57-64 GHz spectrum band
- is a way of building an entire transmission system on a cost-effective single silicon chip
- includes secure encryption technology to ensure privacy and content security
will be able to be readily incorporated into into multiple devices thanks to its low cost
Current Status
The team has successfully demonstrated a working, CMOS-based 60 GHz wireless chip with transmission and reception modules and an inbuilt antenna.
The chip is now capable of providing wireless connection speeds of 5Gbps over distances of up to 10 metres using a slice of unlicensed bandwidth between 57 and 64GHz. Future enhancements to the technology will allow this speed to increase to 30Gbps.
How will this research be used in the real world?
Ultimately the aim of the chip is to remove the need for data cabling throughout homes completely.
Other possible uses:
- Embedded in mobile phones or handheld computers, users could wirelessly download HD-quality movies from a kiosk in a matter of seconds. The movie could then be wirelessly transmitted from the portable device to an HD television screen.
- Telecommunications carriers could use the chip as a way of creating the final link between fibre-optic broadband networks and the home. Rather than laying fibre from the kerb of the house the link could be provided wirelessly.
- The chip could be used in place of existing, expensive optical interconnects between components.
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