Design and optimization of an energy-efficient RF transceiver to AGGREGATe channels OveR GHz frequencies – AGGREGATE5

The 5th Generation (5G) of communications provides very high-data rates using multiple carrier frequencies simultaneously in the 617MHz to 5GHz band. The main challenge is to carry out a smart aggregation of carriers without increasing power consumption considering the constraints of multi-standards, resolution, speed and integration. Nyquist analogue-to-digital converters and classical RF conditioning form the bottleneck of the radio frequency transceiver. We propose a technological breakthrough solution of a high-speed energy-efficient transceiver integrated into nanoscale FDSOI CMOS technology. The research hypothesis is based on the design of an innovative architecture using mathematical approaches from the theory of Walsh series and Compress Sensing. The implementation of this solution improves the performance of existing 5G systems by 325% in energy efficiency (pJ/bit), in integration capacity by a factor of 10 (silicon surface) and in frequency agility (reconfigurable on demand). The validation of the proof of concept paves the way to the development of architectures using communicating artificial intelligence (AI) for the 6th Generation (6G) of communications.