5G spectrum technology has made a breakthrough, and battery life has soared

Improving battery life has been a challenge for all IoT application industries. Researchers have now built a new component that will more efficiently allow access to the highest 5G frequencies, extending device battery life and speeding up the speed at which we can process content such as high-definition streaming.

How does it work?

Smartphones are equipped with switches that perform multiple tasks. One of the main tasks is switching between networks and spectrum frequencies: 4G, Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth, etc. Current radio frequency (RF) switches that perform this task are always on, which consumes precious processing power and battery life.

A team from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Lille in France has found a solution. "The switch we developed is more than 50 times more energy efficient than the switches used today," said Deji Akinwande, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, who led the research. "It can transmit HDTV streams at frequencies of 100 GHz, which is unheard of in broadband switching technology."

The new switch remains closed unless other steps are actively helping the device jump between networks, saving battery life for other processes. They also demonstrated the ability to transfer data at baseline speeds above 5G speeds.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been pushing for years to develop "near-zero-power" RF switches. Previous researchers have found success at the lower end of the 5G spectrum, where speeds are slower but data can travel longer distances.

It’s the first switch that can function across the spectrum, from low-end gigahertz (GHz) frequencies to high-end terahertz (THz) frequencies, and could one day be key to the development of 6G.

The technology's impact extends beyond smartphones. Satellite systems, smart radios, reconfigurable communications, the "internet of things" and defense technology are all examples of other potential uses for these switches.

The research results have been published in the journal Nature Electronics.