GaN Hybrid Integration and LINEarization for Energy/Cost Efficient 6G Transmitters in FR3 & D-Band
Project Status: setup
Start Date: January 2027
End Date: December 2029
Budget (total): 7.248 K€
Effort: 41.7PY
Project-ID: C2026/1-9
Not yet active:
Infineon Technologies AG, Germany
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Institut für Angewandte Festkörperphysik (IAF), Germany
FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) – LITES Chair of Smart Electronics and Systems, Germany
HFA, S.A. – Henrique Fernando e Alves, Portugal
Ericsson AB (EAB), Sweden
SweGaN AB, Sweden
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Abstract
GaN-HILINE addresses critical challenges in semiconductor technology and power amplifier (PA) design that needs
to be solved to facilitate 6G radio access and Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) capabilities in the upper
FR1- (6.425-7.125 GHz) and low/mid FR3-bands (7.125-15.35 GHz); as well as wireless backhaul systems in the
sub-THz (>100 GHz) regimes. That includes overcoming limitations in device technology, circuit performance,
linearity, efficiency, and cost. The work follows two technical tracks:
Track 1 — GaN-Si for FR1/FR3 Radio Access
Massive MIMO radio base stations will be the dominant solution for radio access in the 6-15 GHz (FR1/FR3) spectrum.
These frequency bands come with new challenges for the base station radios, power amplifiers, and ultimately the
semiconductor technology being used. For cost and integration reasons, PAs based on Bi-CMOS and CMOS
technologies are attracive but cannot provide the required output power, whereas PAs based on traditional GaN
processes and building practices are too expensive. As the number of transmitters grows in massive MIMO
applications, energy consumption related to digital predistortion also increases, risking noncompliance with strict
energy and sustainability requirements.
To address these challenges, and to enable commercial deployment of the 6-15 GHz bands, this track will investigate
GaN-Si device technology, PA circuit design, linearity enhancement techniques, and cost-efficient packaging.
Track 2 — GaN-SiC for subTHz Backhaul
Currently, there is no semiconductor technology that can provide enough output power to enable commercial
wireless backhaul at subTHz (>100 GHz). This track therefore focuses on advancing GaN-SiC technology to meet the
demanding requirements of subTHz wireless backhaul. The objective is to achieve significantly higher linear RF
output power and efficiency than currently available solutions, and combine it with cost efficient packaging solutions,
to enable long-range, high capacity subTHz backhaul links essenential for 6G transport networks.
