Researchers are developing new technology that can harness energy from small waves. Image source: Shutterstock (#617208305)
Researchers at the Hiroshima University and Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (MIFS) have recently developed a low-power millimeter-wave amplifier that feeds on 0.5 V power supply and covers the frequency range from 80 GHz to 106 GHz. MIFS’s Deeply Depleted Channel (DDC) technology was used to fabricate the amplifier and is capable to working with low volatages as well and is currently available from MIFS as a 55-nm CMOS process.
Prof. Minoru Fujishima, Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University explains the technology as, “Now that seriously low-power W-band circuits seem really possible, we should think about what we can do with them. Applications aren’t limited to automotive radars and high-speed communications between base stations. What if you have a radar on your smartphone? Today’s smartphones can already sense things like acceleration, audible sound, visible light, and Earth’s magnetic field. But the only active probing device is that tiny LED (light-emitting diode) that can illuminate at most a few meters. Add a millimeter-wave radar on a smartphone, and it doesn’t have to be a so-called primary radar, which only detects waves reflected back. Your smartphone could respond to waves from your friend’s radar and send some signal back. A whole lot of new applications could be created including games. Another significance of our 0.5-V W-band amplifier is reliability. We researchers know that some millimeter-wave circuits presented at major conferences, biased at 1 V or higher, won’t last long. They degrade as you measure them, within days or even hours, not years, because of the so-called hot-carrier effects. You wouldn’t want to get on a car that loses its sight so quickly. The 0.5-V supply voltage will significantly reduce hot-carrier generation.”
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