Real-Time Electromagnetic Wave Engineering for Next Generation Wireless Systems

根据目前的市场趋势，预计5G网络将需要支持数据容量增加1000倍，以处理超过1000亿台设备，峰值速率为10gb /s，数据传输延迟低。考虑到半导体行业技术极限的最终饱和，以及当前移动技术的单纯演进将在很大程度上不足以满足预期需求的事实，向毫米波的过渡是无线行业目前考虑的最有前途的解决方案之一。虽然向毫米波的过渡简化了系统架构，但它需要在硬件限制方面取得重大技术进步。目前，毫米波系统主要采用基于数字技术的混合架构，其中很大一部分信号处理是在基带进行的，这意味着系统复杂性和成本很高。虽然传统智慧指向改进基带和射频（RF）架构，以实现计算效率高的接口和更高密度的集成设计，但该提案采用了一种根本不同的潜在破坏性信号处理方法，该方法不依赖于数字技术，因此不会受到其技术瓶颈的影响。这种信号处理范例被称为实时模拟波工程（RT-AWE）。******RT-AWE是对原始模拟形式的电磁（EM）信号进行实时操作，以实现微波或毫米波应用的特定操作，灵感来自超快光信号处理原理。RT-AWE系统的核心是一个色散工程的EM结构，它与复杂的EM波形相互作用，无论是在时间上，空间上还是时空上，产生所需特性的瞬时波形响应。在这个研究项目中，申请人计划基于他最近在色散工程相位器，漏波天线，超表面和超材料方面的工作，开发新的毫米波模拟和/或混合RT-AWE技术解决方案。一些关键的应用目标是用于微波回程和数据互连应用的多gbps毫米波链路，超高速高分辨率频谱分析仪，智能天线前端和基于超表面的工程EM环境。随着EM超材料的科学创新和未来无线毫米波系统的工程重点，RT-AWE有潜力突破低成本无线技术，使数百万加拿大人在密集的城市地区和偏远的地理位置都能负担得起。如果成功，RT-AWE可能会延续加拿大丰富而大胆的科学创新传统，并将该国置于下一次无线革命的前沿。

Extrapolating from current market trends, it is predicted that 5G networks will be required to support a 1,000-fold increase in data capacity to handle over 100 billion devices featuring peak rates of 10 Gb/s and low data transmission latency. Considering the eventual saturation of the technological limits of the semiconductor industry, and the fact that a mere evolution of current mobile technologies will be largely insufficient to meet the anticipated demands, transition to mm-waves is among the most promising solutions considered currently within the wireless industry. While transition to mm-wave features simplified system architectures, it requires major technological progress in terms of hardware constraints. As of today, mm-wave systems resort to hybrid architectures dominantly based on digital techniques, where a significant part of the signal processing is performed at baseband, implying high system complexity and cost. While the conventional wisdom points towards improving baseband and radio-frequency (RF) architectures, with the aim of realizing computationally efficient interfaces and higher density integrated designs, this proposal undertakes a fundamentally different and a potentially disruptive signal processing approach, which does not rely on digital techniques and hence without suffering from their technological bottlenecks. This signal processing paradigm is referred to as Real-Time Analog Wave Engineering (RT-AWE).******RT-AWE is the manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) signals in their pristine analog form and in real time to realize specific operations enabling microwave or mm-wave applications, inspired from ultrafast optical signal processing principles. The heart of an RT-AWE system is a dispersion engineered EM structure, which interacts with complex EM waveforms, either temporally, spatially or spatio-temporally, producing instantaneous wave-shaped responses of desired characteristics. In this research program, the applicant plans to develop new mm-wave analog and/or hybrid RT-AWE technological solutions based on his recent works on dispersion engineered phasers, leaky-wave antennas, metasurfaces and metamaterials. Some key application goals are multi-Gbps mm-wave links for microwave backhaul and data interconnect applications, ultrafast high resolution spectrum analyzers, smart antenna front-ends, and metasurface based engineered EM environments. With scientific innovation in EM metamaterials and engineering focus on future wireless mm-wave systems, RT-AWE has the potential for breakthrough low-cost wireless technologies, making them affordable and available to millions of Canadians in both dense urban areas and remote geographical locations. In case of success, RT-AWE may continue the rich and bold tradition of Canadian scientific innovation and place the country among the forefront of the next wireless revolution.