Phiar Files Patent For Integrated Antenna and Analog Electronics--Simplifies Millimeter-wave Radio Development to Enable Multi-Gigabit Wireless Solutions.

New Approach Ushers In an Era of Unprecedented Integration for High-Performance Analog Electronics

BOULDER, Colo. -- Phiar Corporation, the leading provider of metal-insulator electronics, today announced that it has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a monolithically integrated analog front end and antenna structure. Phiar's innovation uses metal-insulator electronics instead of semiconductors to integrate antennas and analog electronic components on the same substrate. This breakthrough approach reduces costs and greatly enhances the practicality of 60 GHz wireless systems that will enable multi-gigabit data transmission for the consumer electronics market.

"This patent solves a critical problem for a consumer market that is eagerly awaiting multi-gigabit wireless solutions," said Adam Rentschler, director of business development for Phiar. "Phiar's innovation will lower costs and enable development of wireless radios that stream multiple channels of uncompressed high-definition video content."

Government agencies around the world have limited the transmission power for 60 GHz radios to low levels. As a result, high-gain antennas are required to pick up these weak signals. This creates an interesting problem for radio designers. By definition, high-gain antennas are highly directional, but in practical applications, a consumer is going to place their DVD player and TV wherever they like. So, the radio designer has to create an antenna system that can automatically locate and point to the other device.

Moreover, millimeter-wave radios are much more difficult to design than low-frequency radios like those based on the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth standards. System integration issues are much more important at these high frequencies. Creating an antenna that moves mechanically introduces reliability problems and increases the overall radio's size, cost and complexity. Electronically "steer-able" antennas, so called phase-array systems, are common on Navy ships and fighter planes, but are large, operate at frequencies much lower than 60 GHz and are cost-prohibitive for the consumer electronics industry.

A simpler approach would be to use a number of antenna arrays, each pointing in a slightly different direction, to provide coverage for an entire living room; however, to keep costs down, most radio designers plan to use just one analog front end chip for the system where frequency is converted from 60 GHz to the lower data frequency. This leaves relatively long distances for the signal to travel from antenna to radio chip, leading to unacceptable signal losses.

Today, Phiar's breakthrough, patent-pending concept solves these problems by allowing local frequency conversion at the edge of each antenna array, simultaneously eliminating transmission line losses and allowing designers to place antennas in their optimal locations without increasing manufacturing costs.

"If you consider the case of incorporating a 60 GHz radio into a laptop, the advantages of Phiar's approach are clear," continued Rentschler. "Ideal antenna placements for this application would put antenna arrays along all of the bottom edges of the computer, pointing outward, and additional antennas on the monitor. In this way, one could greatly enhance the likelihood of establishing an excellent line-of-sight connection with the other radio, regardless of its location. Local frequency conversion makes this possible. Because it is both low cost and compatible with substrates used for antenna arrays, Phiar's technology offers a practical, cost-effective solution to a difficult problem."

Phiar's patented devices contain no semiconductors. Metal-insulator electronics utilize quantum tunneling. Tunneling is so fast it happens in about 1 femtosecond, providing a substantial speed advantage over semiconductor devices. Phiar's devices are simple to manufacture, using readily available semiconductor factory equipment. In high volumes, Phiar's technology will be less expensive than traditional silicon-based electronics.

About Phiar Corporation

Phiar is developing low cost, nano-scale devices that take performance beyond the physical limits of semiconductors. Phiar's metal-insulator technology can be integrated into supporting CMOS chip dies, or manufactured on a wide range of other substrates. Natively operating from DC to 3 THz, Phiar's technology is a compact, practical replacement for costly compound semiconductors in GHz applications and cryogenic devices in the emerging THz field. Phiar is funded by Menlo Ventures. For more information, visit www.phiar.com.