Sttr phase I: tunable transceivers for multi-standard wireless

This $275,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) supports the development of a prototype transceiver integrated circuit with wide frequency flexibility. The goal is to create a tunable and programmable radio frequency (RF) transceiver that can achieve the benefits of both hardware-tuned and software-defined radio approaches, addressing limitations in existing software-defined radio technologies. The awarded small business, Echoics, will work to commercialize this novel tunable resonator circuit technique for RF integrated circuits, with the broader impact of improving the quality, reliability, and coverage of wireless networks, including defense communication and commercial cellular (4G/5G) networks. The project aims to enable higher data rates, increased user density, and lower energy use in wireless networks, ultimately lowering the economic and logistical barriers to widespread internet connectivity.

Abstract

The broader/commercial impact of this small business technology transfer (STTR) phase I project will be an improvement in the quality, reliability, and coverage of wireless networks, including defense communication and commercial cellular (4G/5G) networks. By advancing scientific understanding of a new type of tunable wireless frontend, wireless networks will achieve higher data rates, a higher number and density of users, and lower energy use. These technical improvements result in lower total ownership costs for communication hardware and more reliable coverage in dense urban environments. Taken together, this project will lower the economic and logistical barrier of entry to wireless connection, enabling more equitable access to the internet and each other. This phase I project will help launch a fabless semiconductor business focused on a patent-pending multi-purpose wireless frontend integrated circuit based on this project?S proof of concept. The existing market for such hardware is the $8B software defined radio market, which is immediately impacted by 10X performance improvements in the same form factor as existing products. This same product family will also be suitable for use in the much larger network infrastructure market ($110B). This small business technology transfer (STTR) phase I project focuses on the commercialization of a novel tunable resonator circuit technique for radio frequency integrated circuits. Radio frequency systems can be designed with hardware tuning (as in frequency modulation receivers), or without hardware tuning, where the signal of interest is isolated from other radio frequency signals in software. This second approach, called software-defined radio has been lauded in academic and industry research for its potential improvements to overall modern wireless network throughput, however the lack of tuning causes software-defined radios to suffer poor efficiency, susceptibility to interference, and high cost. These downsides have prevented adoption outside defense applications. This project aims to close the GAP between these two approaches by developing a transceiver that is both tuned and programmable, achieving the benefits of both approaches. Specifically, this project will develop a prototype transceiver integrated circuit with wide frequency flexibility (