DLINK aims to put UK at forefront of wireless communications

DLINK is funded by the EPSRC and includes industrial partners such as Intel, BT, Nokia Bell Labs, IQE, Filtronic, Optocap, and Teledyne e2v. It uses the D-band part of the 5G spectrum, between 151 – 174.8GHz. Being very wide, it enables the transmission of high data rates, around 45Gb/s. The project aims to enable data transmission over distances of around a kilometre.

The problem with this transmission distance is the weather. Rain and other atmospheric conditions attenuate the signal. However, with the increasing ubiquity of wireless devices and demand for high data-rates applications such as video streaming (which is estimated will account for almost 3/4 of mobile data traffic within five years), there is a need for transmission technologies which do not require additional infrastructure such as fibre or transmitters on high roofs.

DLINK is led by Prof Claudio Paoloni, Cockcroft Chair and head of engineering at Lancaster University. Its primary aim is to develop a novel transmitter that will produce a signal that can withstand the atmospheric attenuation. Prof Paoloni is a specialist in devices known as vacuum travelling wave tubes, which greatly amplify the transmission power needed to enable new architectures of wireless high data rates networks using very high frequencies. The tubes will be paired with a novel oscillator, driven by a resonant tunnelling diode transmitter, which will be built by the Glasgow team led by Prof Edward Wasige.