著眼于物聯(lián)網(wǎng)(Internet of Things，IoT)的發(fā)展前景，業(yè)界正致力于研究從無線充電到毫米波雷達等一切應用的各種新興無線技術；根據(jù)比利時微電子研究中心(IMEC)的研究人員們表示，目前的最新任務就涉及了其中的幾項連網(wǎng)標準。 新的802.11ah標準用于1km范圍內(nèi)執(zhí)行超過900MHz的低功率 Wi-Fi ，是最被看好的新式無線電?！拔覀冋J為這項新標準是 IoT 應用于具有 Wi-Fi 路由器的智能家庭與建筑物時的最佳選擇，”在Holst Center主導一項超低功耗無線研究計劃的負責人Kathleen Philips表示。Holst Center是IMEC在荷蘭的合作伙伴。 家庭建筑物自動化市場一直存在各種彼此之間不相 容的無線協(xié)議，包括 EnOcean 、 6LoWPAN 、 WirelessHART 、 ANT 與 RF4CE 等，大多都要求采用各家自有的網(wǎng)關。Philips指出，“對于 Wi-Fi 定義的擴展可望為這些市場帶來催化劑，因為它將采用現(xiàn)有的基礎架構進行通訊，解決互操作性的問題?！? Philips的團隊正在設計一款新的.11ah芯片，目標是能夠以12mW峰值功耗與5mW接收器功耗，達到在1km范圍內(nèi)傳送100kbit/s的距離?！坝捎谶@有希望成為新的大眾市場，供貨商將可在成本、電池壽命、耐用性和距離方面進行差異化，”她說。 Holst也正致力于研究距離可達5-10公尺的遠場 RF 無線充電技術，期望用于取代需要線圈緊密耦合的感應充電技術。新的遠場 RF 無線充電技術是專門針對無法輕易移動以配合感應技術、也無法取得其他能源的 IoT 設備而設計。 “以3W等效全向輻射功率(EIRP)在915MHz頻段傳輸，我們可以從最遠達5公尺以外的能量來源連續(xù)采集到30mW，”Phillips描述她的團隊目前的工作進展。 此 外，Holst的研究團隊也正著手開發(fā)一種功耗為5.1mW的無線個人局域網(wǎng)絡，它具有-95dBm的靈敏度，可支持 Bluetooth 4.0 、 IEEE 802.15.4 與 Zigbee 協(xié)議。此外，該團隊也致力于一種專為智能建筑打造的無線技術，該技術在接收模式時的接收功耗為4mW，具有-120dBM的靈敏度，以及支持多種協(xié)議。 研究人員們看好毫米波無線技術將帶來廣泛的大量應用。 在高階領域，IMEC的另一組研究人員們看好60-90GHz亳米波頻譜將催生許多大量市場應用，從汽車雷達到5G無線鏈路。 IMEC在今年初發(fā)布其于79GHz雷達收發(fā)器的研究進展，采用28nm CMOS制程的79GHz雷達收發(fā)器當時可實現(xiàn)超過10%的效率。如今，該團隊正測量最新的工作進展，期望將該收發(fā)器整合于2平方厘米的相位數(shù)組天線SoC中。 IMEC無線研究小組科學總監(jiān)Liesbet Van der Perre表示，這種毫米波設計將從大規(guī)模 MIMO 天線的新進展中受益。她預期有2020個基地臺可利用該技術以1.17Gbit/s 提供回程網(wǎng)絡連接，而功耗約90W。相較于目前的基地臺在270Mbit/s時的功耗約700W，這一技術已大幅進展。 IMEC正主導一項與歐盟(EU)合作的研究計劃，旨在為大規(guī)模 MIMO 所用的算法、DSP與射頻開發(fā)核心技術?！八⒉皇堑湫偷腗IMO，而是一種新的機制，而且十分具有破壞性，”她說。 另外，Van der Perre還討論了針對 5G 可重配置10Gbit/s射頻模塊的初期研究工作。這項 5G 技術將整合過去在基頻、收發(fā)器以及頻率可調(diào)的前端模塊等方面的研究成果。 該小組的工作重點在于 CMOS ——她聲稱 CMOS 可望在20nm制程節(jié)點時達到毫米波的性能。 IMEC認為，CMOS將在20nm時達到SiGe毫米波性能。 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載 編譯：Susan Hong 參考英文原文：Radios Give IoT New Channels，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} Radios Give IoT New Channels WiFi dives down to 900 MHz Rick Merritt BRUSSELS — A basketful of new radios for everything from wireless charging to millimeter-wave radar are in the works for the Internet of Things, according to researchers at Imec who described their work on several of them. The emerging 802.11ah specification for running low-power WiFi over 900 MHz at distances up to a kilometer is one of the most promising new radios. "We believe this new standard is a very strong candidate for IoT applications in smart homes and buildings where a WiFi router is nearby," says Kathleen Philips, who heads an ultra-low-power wireless research program at the Holst Center, a partner with Imec in the Netherlands. Home and building automation has been a fragmented market served by a host of incompatible wireless protocols including EnOcean, 6LowPAN, WirelessHART, ANT, and RF4CE -- most requiring their own gateways. "The definition of this WiFi extension can be a major catalyst for these markets, because it will communicate with already available infrastructure, resolving interoperability issues," Philips told EE Times. Her group is designing an 11ah chip now that aims to send 100 kbit/s distances of up to a kilometer with a peak transmit power consumption of 12 milliwatts and 5 mW for the receiver. "Since this is expected to be one of the new mass markets, vendors will differentiate on cost, battery life, robustness, and distance," she says. Holst also is researching far-field RF wireless charging over a distance of five to 10 meters as an alternative to inductive approaches that require close alignment of coils. The approach is geared for IoT devices that cannot be easily moved to align with an inductive technique and do not have access to other energy sources. "With a 3W EIRP source transmitting at 915 MHz, we can harvest 30 microwatts on a continuous basis from up to five meters away from the source," Phillips says, describing her group's current work. In other efforts, the Holst team is developing a radio for personal area networks that consumes 5.1 mW, has a -95 dBm sensitivity and supports Bluetooth 4.0, IEEE 802.15.4, and Zigbee protocols. It is also working on a radio for smart buildings that consumes 4 mW in receive mode, has a -120 dBm sensitivity, and supports multiple protocols. Researchers see a broad set of high-volume apps emerging for millimeter wave radios. At the high end of the spectrum, Imec is among a growing set of researchers that see many mass-market applications emerging in the millimeter wave spectrum from 60 to 90 GHz, spanning automotive radar to 5G cellular links. Imec reported earlier this year on its work on a 79 GHz radar transceiver in 28 nm CMOS that has more than 10% efficiency. It is now measuring results of its work, aiming to integrate the transceiver into a cm2 SoC with a phased array antenna. Such millimeter wave designs will benefit from emerging work in massive MIMO antennas, says Liesbet Van der Perre, a group science director in wireless research at Imec. She predicts 2020 base stations could use the technique to deliver backhaul connections at 1.17 Gbit/s at power consumption levels of 90 W. That's up from 270 Mbit/s for today's base stations consuming 700 W, she said. Imec is leading a research collaboration in the European Union that aims to develop core technology for algorithms, DSPs and radios for massive MIMO. "It's not classic MIMO, it's a new scheme and very disruptive," she told us. Separately, Van der Perre discussed early work on a reconfigurable 10 Gbit/s radio module for 5G, targeting the 16 nm node. It would integrate past work in basebands, transceivers, and frequency-flexible front-end modules. The group's work is focused on CMOS, which she claims is catching up to the millimeter wave capabilities of silicon germanium at the 20 nm node. CMOS will catch up with SiGe's millimeter wave capabilities at 20 nm, Imec believes.