5G mmWave Wireless Communications

5G millimeter wave (mmWave) technology unlocks unprecedented capacity and ultralow latency by leveraging frequencies above 24 GHz for wireless communications.

5G deployments typically operate within the sub-6 GHz frequencies and offer higher capacity through carrier aggregation. However, sub-6 GHz spectrum is scarce, increasingly congested, and expensive. To facilitate the offload in this congested spectrum, operators are looking to mmWave frequencies as the solution to complement existing 5G networks as part of a multilayer 5G deployment approach.

Millimeter wave has the unique advantage in that it can support increased capacity with ultrafast speeds due to the larger available swaths of bandwidth between 24 GHz to 48.2 GHz. 5G mmWave will be most suitable in dense urban environments where networks will be under strain to handle the increasing capacity needs of users and their demand for more data.

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5G mmWave will act as the scalable connectivity solution of the future, allowing network operators to service the growing demand for capacity.

Wireless networks are no longer about coverage, but capacity. If 4G is a 4-lane highway, then 5G is a 64-lane highway with five times the speed limit—and the passing lane is powered by 5G mmWave technology.

Analog Devices Delivers the Distinguishing Features of 5G mmWave

The future of 5G mmWave is coming and its complementary nature with existing networks will result in the best 5G user experience possible. Businesses in vertical markets will also feel its effects, whether it’s the factory automation of Industry 4.0, high throughput communications in military settings, lifesaving virtual healthcare and procedures finally becoming available to the remotest regions of the Earth, or bringing reliable high speed broadband to the masses through fixed wireless access (FWA).

The ADI 5G mmWave Advantage

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Complete 24 GHz to 48.2 GHz Frequency Coverage

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Highly Integrated Wideband 16-Channel Beamforming IC

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Optimized Power Consumption, Bandwidth, and Performance

With unparalleled system-level expertise, best-in-class technologies across the RF spectrum, and unrivalled deep domain knowledge across markets, ADI is uniquely positioned to help customers navigate the complexity of the 5G transformation. You can confidently build, test and harness 5G’s capabilities faster, with higher performance and less risk.

Our portfolio of 5G mmWave technology breaks the current narrow-band vendor paradigm by optimizing power consumption, bandwidth, and performance while delivering the highest level of integration. Let ADI help you unlock 5G’s full potential and develop the best solutions for broad market or specific applications.

Two Distinct Radio Elements Behind the Future of 5G mmWave

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Infrastructure Grade Outdoor Solutions

Ideal for commercial settings. Radios will be used for FWA to the home to enhance broadband connectivity in urban and rural settings. In addition, such commercial 5G mmWave solutions will be used to offload network capacity in busy urban environments to mobile users.

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Indoor/Customer Premises Equipment Deployments of 5G mmWave

To be used in the home or office. 5G mmWave will be used to add ultrahigh capacity for indoor coverage at a size and power level that is suitable and commensurate as a complementary solution to Wi-Fi.

ADI’s 5G mmWave portfolio targets both of these deployment modes with a commitment to deliver the future of 5G mmWave connectivity across all applications.

Infrastructure Grade Outdoor Solutions

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ADI delivers the industry’s highest performance 5G mmWave front-end signal chain solution for next-generation 5G mmWave infrastructure. A platform solution is created from complementary building blocks (24 GHz to 48.2 GHz), offering a future-proof design that lowers platform R&D costs and enables faster development times.

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Key Benefits

  • Next-generation CMOS IC technology delivering highest efficiency and output power.
  • External TDD switch portfolio with integrated negative supply generator.
  • Complete signal chain covering all 5G mmWave bands (24 GHz to 48.2 GHz).
  • 1.2 V and 1.8 V VDD power rails on CMOS ICs.

Infrastructure Grade Featured Products

Customer Premises Equipment

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ADI offers complete transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) solutions for mmWave applications. Our beamformers offer best-in-class performance with the highest levels of integration for optimum scalability and antenna array simplification. With these technologies combined, ADI is equipped to help our customers build next-generation 5G mmWave infrastructure that adds ultrahigh-capacity connectivity for indoor coverage in home and office settings.

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Key Benefits

  • RF range from 24.0 GHz to 43.5 GHz
  • Complete antenna steering solution with digital control circuitry, power detectors, on-chip memory, power management blocks, and more.
  • Multichannel beamformers with independent phase and amplitude control in transmit and receive paths.
  • 16 configurable transmit and receive channels
  • Dual polarization, 8 horizontal and 8 vertical channels paired to independent UDCs

Customer Premises Equipment Featured Products

5G mmWave Wireless Communications Featured Resources

For over 50 years, ADI has been planning, designing, and building core technologies that make today’s 5G network infrastructure possible. ADI has not only contributed to the communications advancement for 2G, 3G, and 4G but enabled every major field test of 5G and helped create one of the world’s first 5G networks. Explore our resources to learn more.

5G mmWave RF Front-End ICs 24 GHz to 48.2 GHz

Our 5G mmWave RF ICs break the narrow-band vendor paradigm by simultaneously optimizing power consumption, bandwidth, and performance while delivering the highest level of integration.

Explore 5G mmWave solutions

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Next Generation 5G mmWave Radio from Bits-To-Beams

See a complete bits-to-beams system with the all new MxFE® AD9082, ADMV1017 microwave upconverter/downconverter, and the ADMV4801, 16-channel analog beamformer.

Watch the video to learn more

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Instrumentation Grade mmWave Signal Chains

In this webcast, we present a robust mmWave signal chain solution that can be employed to characterize and test mmWave devices using the state-of-the-art circuits from ADI.

View the webcast