Low-power MoS₂-based microwave transmitter could advance communications

To further advance wireless communication systems, electronics engineers have been trying to develop new electronic circuits that operate in the microwave frequency range (1–300 GHz), while also losing little energy while transmitting signals. Ideally, these circuits should also be more compact than existing solutions, as this would help to reduce the overall size of communication systems.

Most of the microwaves integrated in current communication systems are made of bulk materials, such as silicon or gallium arsenide. While these circuits have achieved good results so far, both their size and power consumption have proved to be difficult to reduce further.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting materials, which are made up of a single atomic layer, could overcome the limitations of bulk materials, as they are both thinner and exhibit advantageous electrical properties. Among these materials, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), has been found to be particularly promising for the development of microwave circuits and other components for communication systems.

Researchers at Fudan University recently designed and fabricated new integrated microwave transmitters, devices that can steer radio beams electronically, based on monolayer MoS₂ wafers. These transistors, introduced in a paper published in Nature Electronics, were found to exhibit both a low energy loss during transmission and low power consumption.

“Low-power microwave systems with minimal losses are required due to the growing demand for more efficient communication systems,” Tianxiang Wu, Liyuan Zhu and their colleagues wrote in their paper. “Two-dimensional semiconductors can potentially be used to create low-power microwave circuits, but the development of integrated two-dimensional microwave systems remains limited. We report integrated two-dimensional transmitters fabricated on four-inch monolayer MoS₂ wafers.”

Wu, Zhu and their colleagues produced 4-inch MoS₂ wafers and built their microwave transmitters directly on these wafers. In the transmitter they created, 16 microwave signal transmitting elements are arranged in a 4 x 4 grid.

“The transmission loss of monolayer MoS₂ channel in switch is 0.51 dB, and the power consumption of the complete 16-element transmitter is 3.2 μW,” wrote Wu, Zhu and their colleagues. “The 4 × 4 phased array transmitter, which offers both communication and radar functions, exhibits a bandwidth of 6 GHz, a beam scanning angle from −35° to 35°, a transmission distance of 136 m and a standby time of 26 days when powered by a 1,000 mAh-capacity battery.”

In initial tests, the compact transmitter developed by Wu, Zhu and their colleagues achieved very promising results, including a remarkably low power consumption and energy loss for 2D material-based microwave systems. The transmitter also supports dual-mode operation, which means that it can support both communications and radar technology in a single device. Its extended operational life could also be advantageous for the development of low-power wearable devices and untethered robotic systems.

“Our complete board-level system has a size of around 3 × 2 cm², and we show that it can be integrated into a small insect model,” wrote the authors.

In the future, the microwave transmitter developed by this team of researchers could be improved further, integrated in various electronic devices and evaluated in real-world settings. Eventually, it could contribute to the advancement of communication systems, small electronics and even insect-inspired robots.

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