Although it will be several years before the high-frequency, high-performance bands of mmWave 5G become commercially available, the telecom industry is already preparing for 6G communications, and an IDTechEx research note notes that 6G technology will: We warn you that there is a possibility that Ultimately, it will be rolled out globally within 10 years, requiring significant R&D efforts by numerous actors across the supply chain, including businesses, component suppliers, governments, academic institutions, and equipment material suppliers. Must be done now.
The general consensus is that compared to 5G, 6G is expected to have 50x higher data rates and 100x faster speeds. 6G services are likely to operate in frequency bands spanning the THz (terahertz) range (0.3 to 10 THz), offering Tbps (terabits per second) data rates, microsecond latency, and widespread network reliability. will be able to provide it.
Research in 6G technology has accelerated since 2019, two years after Huawei’s first major milestone in 6G research. Partnerships and consortia are being formed to become an important hub for future 6G technology innovation.
This includes research and development of low-loss materials, which IDTechEx investigated in its report. Low Loss Materials for 5G and 6G 2024-2034: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts. For THz communications, IDTechEx believes that low-loss materials that help minimize signal loss are critical to enabling new 6G technologies and applications.
The report concluded that the two biggest challenges that 6G technology needs to address are very short signal propagation distances and signal loss due to line-of-sight obstacles such as buildings and trees.
Regarding the former challenge, IDTechEx says that minimizing transmission losses will require various technological advances, including material innovations for 6G. Broadly speaking, he noted that materials innovation serves as a key building block for the development of other technological advances.
The analyst acknowledged from the beginning that the exact performance targets needed for 6G are still unclear. However, he added that the industry can expect the next generation of low-loss materials to at least exceed the performance of current ultra-low-loss materials.
Therefore, some researchers are approaching the challenge of 6G low-loss materials from the starting point of low-loss materials currently in commercial use. These material approaches allow the incorporation of new structures and modifiers into industry standard dielectric materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene and reinforced epoxy thermosets.
The study also identified other companies considering the need for low-loss materials for integrated packaging. As telecommunications components continue to be integrated into smaller packages, the need for materials that facilitate such packaging increases. Organic materials such as polyimide and polyphenyl ether (PPE) have been developed as build-up materials for substrates.
IDTechEx also pointed out that there is a lot of research activity on inorganic materials for integrated packaging. According to the journal, numerous papers have been published demonstrating the feasibility of using glass as a substrate for antenna-integrated die-embedded packages, which could reduce signal loss in interconnects. That’s what it means. Other researchers are exploring new ceramic compositions for low-temperature co-fired ceramics for 6G applications, with some research approaches relying on less expensive thermoplastics, silica foams, or wood-based composites. Utilizes non-traditional materials.
