Why wireless networks?
Fed up with the rat’s nest of cables connecting your DVD player, computer and portable device to your HD screen , the solution is to replace them with wireless connections. The problem is that HD video requires transmission speeds of around 4gigabits per second, which is much faster than most home wireless networks available today.
The answer is high-frequency wireless technology, operating in the 60 GHz spectrum. This can deliver multiple gigabit-per-second links over short distances, but 60 GHz wireless equipment can cost more than $100,000 per unit and is far too bulky to be used in the average home.
The challenge
To reduce both the size and cost of 60GHz wireless equipment.
How is NICTA tackling the problem?
NICTA’s 27-strong Wireless GigE Project team, based out of NICTA’s Victorian and Sydney research labs,has focused on finding ways to miniaturise transmission and reception components.
The team developed a method that placed all required radio frequency transmission components on a single chip. The first of its type in the world, the chip uses the common CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) process.
This achievement is significant as CMOS technology is not traditionally used for radio frequency applications. The prototype chips have been created using IBM’s 130nm RF CMOS process.
Find out how this research will affect you.
Back to Project homepage.