SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Qualcomm Puts mmWave in Handsets: 5G antenna modules target smartphones [eetimes.com]

Qualcomm has started sampling 5G RF and antenna modules for smartphones, another piece of the puzzle for the cellular networks expected to start lighting up later this year. The parts suggest some of the design challenges that engineers will face packing the new capabilities into handsets.

Smartphones may use as many as four of the QTM052 antenna modules that come in versions supporting 26- to 40-GHz bands. The millimeter-wave signals enable high data rates at short ranges for urban and office networks but typically require multiple modules to provide both antenna diversity and avoid interference from a user's hand.

The modules pack a 5G radio transceiver, power management IC, RF front end, and a 1 x 4 phased antenna array that supports beam forming, tracking, and steering. The company declined to provide the price, size, or power consumption of the modules or the process technology that they are made in but promised to release performance data later.

Also at The Verge [theverge.com].

Original Submission