New mmWave technology can halve cost of 5G base stations

Plasma Antennas, the inventors of plasma silicon technology, has unveiled the mmWave Plasma Silicon Antenna (PSiAN); that offers huge improvements in performance for 5G base stations compared to the current generation of technology. Based on the company’s patented Plasma Silicon technology, the antenna reduces the cost of a 5G base station by up to 50% by eliminating phase shifters, reducing and consolidating amplification and reducing computation. The device has no moving parts and is dynamically reconfigurable as it forms and steers beams. The technology does not need calibration and can handle practically unlimited power, having already been tested up to 40W. The products are smaller, lighter and use less power than equivalent products using current technology. The device also has an omni mode, when it draws no power at all. “Time after time we hear that cost and range are the biggest challenges facing mmWave 5G projects,” said Paul Phillipson CEO of Plasma Antennas. “Our patented Plasma Silicon technology provides a solution which answers both of these problems simultaneously, delivering a huge leap forward in performance and power consumption, and dramatically impacting the economics of future 5G networks.”