Researchers from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have contributed to the development of a cutting-edge switch, crucial in telecommunications, capable of functioning at exceptionally high frequencies while consuming less power than conventional technologies. This innovation holds promise for 6G mass communication systems, offering a more energy-efficient alternative to current devices. The findings were recently published in Nature Electronics.
A switch is essential for regulating signals in electronic communication devices, enabling or blocking an electrical signal. The fastest switches in use today are silicon-based RF silicon-on-insulator MOSFET switches, operating at frequencies of tens of gigahertz (GHz).
However, they are volatile, requiring a constant power source to maintain the ON state. To enhance communication systems and meet the growing demand for faster communications, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual reality, it is necessary to increase the operating frequency of these elements and improve their efficiency.
An international team, including researchers from the UAB Department of Telecommunications and Systems Engineering, has developed a switch capable of operating at twice the frequency of current silicon-based devices, reaching up to 120 GHz, without the need for a constant voltage.
This new switch utilises hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a non-volatile material that can switch between ON and OFF states using an electrical pulse rather than a continuous signal, resulting in substantial energy savings.
“Our research team from the Department of Telecommunications and Systems Engineering at the UAB was involved in the design of the devices and their experimental characterisation in the laboratory,” commented Jordi Verdú, Researcher. “For the first time we have been able to demonstrate the operation of a switch based on hBN, a non-volatile material, in a frequency range of up to 120 GHz, which suggests the possibility of using this technology in the new 6G mass communications systems, where a very high number of these elements will be required”. For Verdú, this is a “very important contribution, not only from the point of view of device performance, but also towards a much more sustainable technology in terms of energy consumption.”
These devices leverage the property of memristance, where the electrical resistance of a material changes when a voltage is applied. Previously, fast switches had been experimentally developed from memristors using two-dimensional networks of hexagonal boron nitride, achieving frequencies up to 480 GHz but only for 30 cycles, rendering them impractical. The new approach employs the same material, arranged in layers (12 to 18 in total), capable of operating at 260 GHz with sufficient stability for practical application.
This research, recently published in Nature Electronics, was coordinated by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. It involved researchers from UAB’s Department of Telecommunications and Systems Engineering, including Jordi Verdú, Eloi Guerrero, Lluís Acosta, and Pedro de Paco, alongside collaborators from the University of Texas at Austin (USA), the Tyndall National Institute, and University College Cork (both in Ireland).
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