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DOCOMO Conducts World’s First Trial of Transmissive Metasurface on Window to Deliver Indoor Radio Waves to Outdoor Foot of Building

ruth
4 minutes

TOKYO, Jan 30, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has succeeded in what it believes to be the world's first trial of redirecting millimeter-band (28 GHz) radio waves coming from inside a building to the foot of the building outdoors by bending the radio waves with a film-shaped transmissive metasurface(1) attached to a window surface. The trial was conducted from October to November 2022 at the DOCOMO R&D Center in Yokosuka, Japan, aiming at realization of advanced fifth-generation (5G Evolution) and sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems.High-frequency radio waves, which are expected to be used in 5G Evolution and 6G, have difficulty coming around behind obstacles and are easily attenuated as propagation distances increase. DOCOMO has also been studying the use of metasurface technology to enhance radio signal reception indoors using outdoor base station(2), and to improve indoor with many obstructions as a user moves(3).Radio waves in the high-frequency band have difficulty reaching places that are not in the line of sight of the transmitting base station installed on the rooftop of buildings, making it difficult to ...

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DOCOMO and AGC Use Metasurface Lens to Enhance Radio Signal Reception Indoors

ruth
4 minutes

TOKYO, Jan 26, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. and AGC Inc. announced that they have developed a prototype technology that efficiently guides 28-GHz 5G radio signals received from outdoors to specific locations indoors using a film-like metasurface lens that attaches to window surfaces. DOCOMO and AGC also conducted what is believed to be world's first successful trial to direct 28-GHz signals passing through a window to specific locations indoors as well as raise the strength of the signals.Newly emerging 5G networks as well as 6G networks of the future are expected to use high-frequency radio waves, such as 28 GHz. Although high-frequency signals enable the realization of advanced communication standards, they are subject to high attenuation over long distances and their high directivity resulting in low diffraction (or weak bending around objects) generally limits their range to within the line of sight of the transmitting base station. Consequently, it is difficult for high-frequency radio waves to penetrate windows, and even if they do they are attenuated to the point of not being able to propagate sufficiently to establish wireless communication links indoors.The new...