5G Backscatter Breakthrough Could Give Battery-Free IoT Devices High-Speed Data Links at a Low Cost

"We can literally print a mmWave antenna array that can support a low-power, low-complexity, and low-cost transmitter."

A team of scientists at Herriot-Watt University, Nokia Bell Labs, and the Georgia Institute of Technology has claimed a breakthrough in backscatter technology, which could allow for Internet of Things (IoT) devices drawing near-zero power yet communicating at 5G cellular speeds.

"Our breakthrough is being able to communicate over 5G/millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies without actually having a full mmWave radio transmitter," explains first author Ionnis 'John' Kimionis, PhD. "Only a single mmWave transistor is needed along much lower frequency electronics, such as the ones found in cell phones or Wi-Fi devices. Lower operating frequency keeps the electronics' power consumption and silicon cost low. Our work is scalable for any type of digital modulation and can be applied to any fixed or mobile device."

"Throughout my career I've looked for ways to make all types of communication more cost-efficient and more energy-efficient. Now, because the whole front end of our solution was created at such low complexity, it is compatible with printed electronics. We can literally print a mmWave antenna array that can support a low-power, low-complexity, and low-cost transmitter."

These low-cost transmitters allow for battery-free devices, including sensors, which can communicate wirelessly using only the power of a received wireless signal in the 24-28GHz range β€” known as backscatter energy harvesting. Unlike previous backscatter systems, this one operates at gigabit data rates β€” the same as typically-powered 5G cellular devices.

Georgia Tech's Emmanouil 'Manos' Tentzeris says the technology could target a range of applications, from rugged high-speed personal area networks (PANs) with battery-free wearable or implantable health sensors through to smart home sensors for temperature, chemical, gas, and humidity monitoring and agricultural applications including frost detection, nutrient analysis, and livestock tracking.

The team's work has been published in the journal Nature Electronics under open-access terms.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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