Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF

FMD measurement laboratory for high-frequency broadband data communication systems

Laboratory setup for investigating MIMO and dual-polarized transmission methods at 300 GHz with data rates of more than 100 Gbit/s.
© Fraunhofer IAF
Laboratory setup for investigating MIMO and dual-polarized transmission methods at 300 GHz with data rates of more than 100 Gbit/s.
Laboratory setup for investigating MIMO and dual-polarized transmission methods at 300 GHz with data rates of more than 100 Gbit/s.
© Fraunhofer IAF

Mobile data traffic is growing exponentially, which means that ever greater volumes of data must be made available at remote locations, terrestrially or via satellite, but also for a limited time at local hot spots. A wired solution is often not possible or too expensive. Broadband radio systems can close these gaps. For this purpose, Fraunhofer IAF is developing components with InGaAs as well as GaN semiconductor devices for very high operating frequencies and powers to make new frequency bands in the millimeter-wave and THz range commercially viable.

For the characterization of integrated circuits (ICs) for wireless communication in possible future 6G frequency bands, Fraunhofer IAF has a measurement laboratory that allows the investigation under realistic operating conditions:

  • Carrier frequencies up to 500 GHz 
  • Generation and analysis of complex modulation schemes 
  • Symbol rates up to 32 GBaud and data rates up to 64 Gbit/s 
  • Investigation of carrier signal sources up to over 300 GHz 

The measurement laboratory is part of the FMD and is being continuously expanded within this framework in order to be able, for example, to research multiple input multiple output (MIMO) data communication systems with previously unattained bandwidths and frequencies (4 x 64 Gbit/s at sub-mm wave carrier frequencies).