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

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

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 create reception areas at the foot of buildings. One of the solutions is to install antennas on a neighboring structural object, but there are cases where such installation is not possible due to landscape and other issues. This trial was conducted in order to expand the area coverage around the foot of a building.The transmissive metasurface for the 28 GHz band used in the trial is a metasurface designed and processed to bend millimeter wave bands passing through a glass window in a specific direction, in this trial, towards the bottom of a building's exterior(4). The film-shaped material was attached to the window glass on the interior side, making it easier to install, and its transparency did not spoil the landscape and existing design. In addition, the transmissive metasurface is designed not to affect other frequency bands such as LTE and Sub-6 bands.Millimeter waves from a base station installed indoor passed through transmissive metasurfaces on the window glass and throughput performance in the foot area of the building was measured. We confirmed that the throughput performance in the foot area was greatly improved by bending the millimeter waves with the transmissive metasurfaces.DOCOMO is also researching and developing various technologies to improve indoor and outdoor coverage in the high frequency bands. For example, it may be possible to direct signals from Multi-Sector Antenna Indoor Base Station, as announced by DOCOMO on January 30(5), to the transmissive metasurface attached to a glass window to improve both indoor and outdoor area coverage. Also, in the future, when constructing a massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system that uses much larger number of antennas, it may be possible to achieve an equivalently large-scale configuration with a relatively small number of antennas at a low cost by applying metasurface technology(6).Going forward, DOCOMO will continue to research and develop efficient and flexible construction of reception areas and radio configurations for 5G Evolution and 6G.The transmissive metasurface used in the trial will be exhibited at "docomo Open House '23," which will be held online from Thursday, February 2.(1) Metasurfaces are a type of artificial medium (metamaterial) that achieve arbitrary permittivity and permeability by periodically arranging structures that are small in relation to wavelength, and are artificial surfaces in which the periodic arrangement of structures is two-dimensional.(2) "DOCOMO and AGC Use Metasurface Lens to Enhance Radio Signal Reception Indoors" (January 26, 2021)www.docomo.ne.jp/english/info/media_center/pr/2021/0126_00.html(3) "NTT and NTT DOCOMO Trial First Use of User-tracking Metasurface Reflector for Extreme Mobile Coverage in Current 5G and Coming 6G Era" (November 12, 2021)www.docomo.ne.jp/english/info/media_center/pr/2021/1112_00.html(4) The transmissive metasurfaces were designed and provided based on the cooperation of AGC Inc.(5) "Small, Efficient 5G Multisector Antenna Indoor Base Station Achieves World's First Demonstration using 28GHz" (January 30, 2023)www.docomo.ne.jp/english/info/media_center/pr/2023/0130_01.html(6) "5G Evolution and 6G (5.0 version)," NTT DOCOMO (November 2022)bit.ly/3HDP8E6 (Japanese only)About NTT DOCOMONTT DOCOMO, Japan's leading mobile operator with over 85 million subscriptions, is one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies. Beyond core communications services, DOCOMO is challenging new frontiers in collaboration with a growing number of entities ("+d" partners), creating exciting and convenient value-added services that change the way people live and work. Under a medium-term plan toward 2020 and beyond, DOCOMO is pioneering a leading-edge 5G network to facilitate innovative services that will amaze and inspire customers beyond their expectations.https://www.docomo.ne.jp/english/. Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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DOCOMO and YKK AP to Test Signal-permeable Windows Made with Aerogel for Easy Penetration by Radio Waves JCN Newswire

DOCOMO and YKK AP to Test Signal-permeable Windows Made with Aerogel for Easy Penetration by Radio Waves

TOKYO, Jan 30, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that in collaboration with YKK AP Inc. it has launched a demonstration test to verify the radio-wave penetration characteristics of signal-permeable windows made with a light, porous material called aerogel, aiming to improve indoor reception of external radio waves while maintaining the insulation benefits of windows.High-performance materials, multilayered window glass and Low-E glass are being used more widely to improve the insulation of homes and offices for energy efficiency. As a consequence, however, it is becoming more difficult for high-frequency radio waves used by cellphones and other applications to reach indoor spaces. In response, DOCOMO and YKK AP are developing windows that allow radio waves to pass through easily while still maintaining high-performance thermal insulation. The plan is eventually to install such windows in the ceilings and walls of existing as well as new homes and offices.DOCOMO and YKK AP will now test a prototype window made with aerogel, a high-performance thermal-insulation gel-like material, to confirm its radio-wave penetration characteristics. Aerogel is known to have a dielectric constant close to that of air and allows radio waves to penetrate easily. The demonstration will enable DOCOMO to test materials, shapes and window structures that best allow radio waves to pass through.Going forward, DOCOMO will continue to work toward 5G Evolution & 6G by researching and developing technologies including windows easily penetrated by high-frequency millimeter and terahertz radio waves for high-quality indoor connectivity.The initiative will be introduced during "docomo Open House '23," which will be held online from Thursday, February 2 through the rest of the month. Please visit:www.docomo.ne.jp/english/corporate/technology/rd/openhouse/openhouse2023/About NTT DOCOMONTT DOCOMO, Japan's leading mobile operator with over 85 million subscriptions, is one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies. Beyond core communications services, DOCOMO is challenging new frontiers in collaboration with a growing number of entities ("+d" partners), creating exciting and convenient value-added services that change the way people live and work. Under a medium-term plan toward 2020 and beyond, DOCOMO is pioneering a leading-edge 5G network to facilitate innovative services that will amaze and inspire customers beyond their expectations. www.docomo.ne.jp/english/. Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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Small, Efficient 5G Multisector Antenna Indoor Base Station Achieves World’s First Demonstration using 28GHz JCN Newswire

Small, Efficient 5G Multisector Antenna Indoor Base Station Achieves World’s First Demonstration using 28GHz

TOKYO, Jan 30, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Yokohama National University, NTT DOCOMO, INC., NIHON DENGYO KOSAKU Co., Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd. announced today that they successfully demonstrated a 5G indoor base station incorporating a multisector antenna using the 28GHz band on January 27. The device, which incorporates circuitry just 1/10th the size of a conventional indoor base station, is extra small for easy installation, minimizes energy consumption and achieves highly efficient signal propagation, all of which will contribute to the realization of high-quality connectivity indoors.The demonstration, in which a conventional 5G base station control unit communicated with the new device via a 28GHz signal, confirmed that a single multisector antenna can receive radio waves in all directions using radio beam control. DOCOMO previously measured the directivity of a single element in a multisector antenna in 2022, but the DOCOMO believes that this was the world's first demonstration to use a multisector antenna in a 5G base station equipped for radio beam control.A multisector antenna divides its surrounding 360-degree space into multiple areas (sectors) for transmitting and receiving radio waves simultaneously and independently in each sector. The antenna used in the demonstration contained 12 directional elements arranged in a radial pattern, each of which effectively transmitted and received radio waves in a specific direction. A Yagi-Uda antenna developed originally for television broadcasting was deployed for the high-frequency band. Conventionally, multiple multielement planar-array antennas are required to propagate high-frequency radio waves to all areas of an indoor environment, requiring large circuitry that consumes significant amounts of energy and demands ample space for installation.By using 5G-standardized beam-switching technology, however, the newly demonstrated multisector antenna incorporated in a small base station managed to achieve high gain in all directions with minimized energy consumption. Installing the envisioned device on ceilings will help to deliver high-frequency radio waves effectively throughout each room, thus reducing the number of base stations needed to construct high-quality indoor communication environments.High-frequency radio waves have strong linearity and their strength tends to diminish easily, making it difficult to deliver such waves over wide areas. Conventionally, four or more base station antennas are required to transmit radio waves in all directions in a room, but the recent demonstration has now shown that just one multisector antenna can handle the task.Going forward, DOCOMO plans to conduct verification tests using the new base station in various indoor environments, based on which it intends to finalize the antenna circuitry and incorproate it in commercial base stations for the establishment of high-quality indoor communication environments at a reduced cost. In addition, the Yokohama National University, DOCOMO, NIHON DENGYO KOSAKU and Fujitsu will work towards 5G Evolution & 6G in order to achieve compatibility with future mobile networks' high-frequency millimeter and terahertz waves for the further enhancement of indoor connectivity.DOCOMO will introduce these initiatives at docomo Open House '23, which will be held online from Thursday, February 2.For more information, visit www.docomo.ne.jp/english/info/media_center/pr/2023/0130_01.htmlAbout Yokohama National UniversityYOKOHAMA National University (YNU) is a Japanese national university founded in 1949. YNU provides students with a practical education utilizing the wide expertise of its faculty and facilitates engagement with the global community. YNU's strength in the academic research of practical application sciences leads to high-impact publications and contributes to international scientific research and the global society. For more information, please see: www.ynu.ac.jp/english/About NTT DOCOMONTT DOCOMO, Japan's leading mobile operator with over 85 million subscriptions, is one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies. Beyond core communications services, DOCOMO is challenging new frontiers in collaboration with a growing number of entities ("+d" partners), creating exciting and convenient value-added services that change the way people live and work. Under a medium-term plan toward 2020 and beyond, DOCOMO is pioneering a leading-edge 5G network to facilitate innovative services that will amaze and inspire customers beyond their expectations. www.docomo.ne.jp/english/.About DENGYODENGYO was founded to enrich the future through better use of radio waves. For decades, our pursuit of cutting-edge innovation has resulted in the development of wireless technology that meets the highest performance standards while consolidating space and equipment.New windowhttps://global.den-gyo.com/About FujitsuFujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers in over 100 countries, our 124,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: Computing, Networks, AI, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$32 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: www.fujitsu.com. Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire. 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