Millimeter-wave Integrated Technologies in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

In digital production, an important sector in the fourth industrial revolution, data communication, is an imperative function of numerous applications in the current and modern era. Big data analytics, preventative maintenance and remote maintenance are among the initially targeted sectors where new generation technologies will play a crucial role. Storage of large quantities of data has become relatively contained in recent years; however, the transfer of data, especially audio and visual media, requires high-bandwidth communication channels that are reliable, safe and stable. Wireless broadband is a convenient method of transferring data between two or more points and enables critical applications in the fourth industrial revolution. In this chapter, the significance of wireless-broadband-enabling technologies, such as the fifth-generation (5G) mobile network with underlying millimeter-wave carrier frequencies, is researched. Wired implementations such as fiber have allowed gigabits per second data transfer for quite some time, but broadening access through wireless technologies requires wireless infrastructure that matches the transfer capabilities of fiber. The principles of millimeter-wave frequencies as enabling technologies for future wireless communication in the era of the fourth industrial revolution are critically investigated in this book and introduced in this chapter.

5G is fundamentally different from its predecessors on certain levels of its design and implementation. These differences primarily lead to higher capacity and speed, as well as lower latency, and reduced energy consumption (compared to earlier generation networks). However, the demand for 5G and mm-Wave networks varies significantly between developed countries and emerging markets. This chapter is therefore focused on identifying the technologies and capabilities of 5G and mm-Wave networks that specifically benefit emerging markets’ needs, which are fundamentally different from the needs of the developed world. This book also reviews techniques to prepare the emerging market for the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and this chapter is central in identifying and reviewing the characteristics of next-generation communications technology that would enable these markets to participate in Industry 4.0, specifically from a telecommunication (transfer of information) perspective.

The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) demands ubiquitous, low-power and high-speed communications between a vast number of devices for applications in association with the internet of things and wireless sensor networks. Traditional receiver architectures such as the super-heterodyne transmitter and receiver are widely used and have proven to be adequate for a new generation of communication technologies, but not without considerations to adapt to millimeter wave (mm-Wave) and teraherz (THz) frequency operation. On system level, next-generation communication protocols such as fifth-generation (5G) are pushing the limits of the hardware. On subsystem level, improvements are being researched to adapt traditional architectures and topologies to cope with a significant increase in operating frequency. On component level, integrated circuit designers and researchers are adapting and improving the layout, geometry and physical characteristics of active and passive components and taking advantage of physics to mitigate limitations incurred by mm-Wave and THz circuits. In this chapter, a review on system level of traditional transceivers is presented as a precursor to the challenges and limitations of mm-Wave 5G-capable transceivers. This is followed by an in-depth critical review at subsystem level of the frequency mixer. Circuit operation and performance metrics of the frequency mixer are presented and followed by a discussion on mm-Wave 5G-capable circuits presented in literature, highlighting the shortcomings and/or innovations to adapt these circuits for a new revolution in communication systems.

In this chapter, a review is presented on receiver subsystem-level of the low noise amplifier (LNA) in a millimeter-wave (mm-Wave)-compatible fifth-generation (5G) transceiver to identify the challenges and limitations of this subsystem at microwave operation (referring specifically in this context to centimeter-wave (3–30 GHz) and mm-Wave (30–300 GHz) operation. In this chapter, the expressions mm-Wave and microwave operation are used interchangeably and this includes mm-Wave frequencies. An overview of the considerations of the power amplifier (PA) in the transmitting front-end is correspondingly presented in this chapter, with a similar analysis of its microwave operation for 5G communications. Although the 5G specification allows for various options for carrier modulation, power levels, data rates and other capabilities as reviewed in Chap. 1 of this book, many of the performance characteristics are derived from the transmitter and receiver front-ends, more specifically the quality of the operation of the LNA and the PA. The LNA is responsible for receiving a weak, noisy signal and (ideally linearly and efficiently) amplifying this signal to a usable level without adding noise. Numerous LNAs have been used that are specifically designed for lower-GHz operation (such as for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands), but difficult operation in the mm-Wave 5G domain increases the complexity of these circuits significantly. Not only is it necessary for the architecture and topology of the LNA to be optimized for mm-Wave operation; the process technology and transistor type should also be considered based on their merits that are applicable and required for a specific application. Improvements on technologies such as “complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar CMOS silicon germanium (SiGe), silicon-on-insulator and gallium arsenide field-effect transistors” are being researched to improve LNA performance from process level through inherent characteristics of the materials, such as leakage currents and electron mobility. References in this chapter to the process technologies are made for the subsystems being reviewed, and a detailed summary of the benefits and drawbacks of the various processes is presented in Lambrechts and Sinha [16]. In this chapter, a review of the fundamentals of LNAs and PAs is presented, along with an analysis on circuit level of the architectures that are typically used for high-frequency operation. The scope of this chapter is limited to describing the performance aspects of the LNA and the PA in terms of their architecture. This technical overview allows the reader to understand the performance limitations when designing transceiver subsystems for 5G communications; the overview does not aim to derive all performance metrics, as this has been reported in various works, referred to throughout this chapter. The subsequent chapters of this book focus on a techno-economic perspective of 5G the fourth industrial revolution, concentrating on emerging markets. Thorough understanding of the limitations and complexities of microwave circuit design is encouraged to avoid underestimating the skills required from researchers and engineers to implement and sustain the technology in these markets. Together with Chap. 2 of this book, the subsystems that are required to process high-frequency signals within a mm-Wave 5G communications system are therefore identified and reviewed. This provides the necessary background to implement these types of systems in preparation for big data communications.

Historically, the pricing of critical services and products required some forms of financial intervention in order to effect distribution to entire populations. In emerging markets, the complexity and challenges of distributing critical products and services in significantly unequal markets are much higher. Governments have been forced to innovate policies and strategies to achieve successful distribution of products and services to poor households and rural areas. This chapter reviews such policies in various market sectors. The sectors are specifically chosen as capital-intensive, critical services, since broadband internet, in line with the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), is fast becoming critical to bridge the digital divide and boost economic growth in emerging markets. The underlying focus is on fifth-generation (5G) and millimeter-wave technologies, emerging technologies that could have a major impact on unserved markets.