A 6G ultra-wideband chip is ready, 10 times faster than 5G.

MILAN – A 6G communications chip capable of reaching data transmission speeds exceeding 100 gigabits per second has been developed, ten times faster than the theoretical limit of 5G and nearly 500 times faster than current average speeds. The device, presented in Nature by researchers at Peking University, City University of Hong Kong, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, promises to pave the way for 6G networks of the next decade, destined to support the growing use of artificial intelligence and ultra-HD streaming. The new chip measures just 11 millimeters by 1.7 millimeters and operates on an ultra-wide frequency band spanning from 0.5 GHz to 115 GHz. Covering this broad spectrum requires nine different radio bands, a task that typically requires the use of a wide variety of components. The new chip, however, can do everything on its own thanks to the help of an electro-optical modulator and optoelectronic oscillators, which allow it to convert radio signals into optical signals and vice versa, thus operating on nine different bands.