September 6, 2024
Shop NowThe emergence of 1G seemed groundbreaking, offering a way for people to communicate with others from anywhere with a rudimentary cellphone. No one imagined, however, how far and quickly telecommunications would evolve, incorporating wafer manufacturing to add advanced features.
As each generation of telecommunications evolved, the ways in which we communicate, work, and interact with each other changed. In this article, we’ll explore that evolution and the role semiconductors played in it.
Since the advent of wireless cellular technology, many developments have occurred. Cell phones' sizes have decreased, download speeds have increased, and using phones to browse the Internet has become a normal practice.
This couldn't have happened without wafers.
Discrete chips are now commonly found in high-end smartphones for radio frequency, baseband (cellular modem), and application processor (AP) functions, key factors of mobile communications.
But how did this develop over time?
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1G was introduced by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone in 1979, and Japan became the first nation to have 1G service available nationwide in 1984. It wasn’t until March 6, 1983, that Ameritech launched 1G in the US market.
Even though the first cellphone prototype was created in 1973—ten years prior to the 1G network's launch in North America—Moto introduced the DynaTAC, the first cellphone to be sold commercially to the general public in 1983.
Despite being a ground-breaking technology at the time, 1G had significant shortcomings in comparison to modern standards. It was hard to hear someone over a 1G network because of the poor sound quality. There was no roaming support offered, and the coverage was poor.
Furthermore, since a 1G channel had no encryption, anyone using a radio scanner could listen in on a call.
In 1991, 2G introduced the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) in Finland in response to the success of 1G.
2 G brought about significant improvements in mobile talk, including encrypted calls so that no one could now jump in without permission. Additionally, 2G enhanced audio quality by lessening crackling and static noises during conversations.
With an average download speed of roughly 0.2 Mbps over its existence, 2G's speeds were much faster than 1G's. In addition, the 2G network made it possible for us to send small amounts of data between phones, giving us access to ringtones and other media on our phones.
With the introduction of text messages (SMS) and multimedia messages (MMS) as new forms of communication, 2G's data transfer drastically altered the way we communicate.
NTT DoCoMo introduced 3G to the public in Japan in 2001 with the goal of standardizing network protocols across vendors. As a result, users could access data from any location, opening the door for the emergence of international roaming services.
With an average data transfer rate of up to 2 Mbps, 3G offered four times the data transfer capacity of 2G.
In addition to improvements in channel bandwidth and radio access schemes, higher data speeds were made feasible by the allocation of extra carrier frequencies, which expanded network capacity and coverage.
This growth led to the development of live video chat, video streaming, and video conferences. Emails also became another standard form of communication over mobile devices.
However, smartphones—which let users use their mobile devices to call, text, listen to music, and search the Internet—were what really made 3G revolutionary. At the same time, lower-end smartphones with retail prices under $300 started emerging.
According to McKinsey, wafer makers faced a new challenge since silicon content was normally about 6% of the phone's handset cost. These more affordable phones required a different chip architecture to meet a price point of $7 to $20.
In late 2009, 4G was first made available for purchase in Norway. With multi-antenna transmission systems and spatial reuse technology, it was able to surpass 3G technology and further increase network capacity and quality.
4G made possible high-quality video streaming and chat, quick mobile web access, HD videos, and online gaming. And unlike mobile generations before, cell phones had been specially developed to support 4G, as opposed to just switching SIM cards.
LTE, or 4G, presented a variety of difficulties for semiconductor manufacturers. First off, because LTE combines the GMS and CDMA mobile communication standards, its R&D costs were almost twice as high as those of 3G technologies.
This led to royalties increasing from just 3% of a phone's selling price in 2G to 12% of an LTE smartphone's average selling price, turning intellectual property into a competitive weapon.
In March 2019, South Korea became the first nation to provide 5G service. According to some experts, 5G was able to surpass 4G by 20 times in speed. The latency and bandwidth sizes of 4G and 5G are two more significant differences.
The average latency of 4G is approximately 50 milliseconds, while the average latency of 5G is anticipated to be approximately 10. This drastically decreased latency lead to faster upload and download speeds.
With a wider frequency range (between 30GHz and 300 GHz), 5G can also support more gadgets and technologies.
The next digital revolution will be fueled by 5G's new network capabilities. It will improve machine-to-machine connectivity. Over the coming years, technologies like AI, IoT, and cloud computing will advance dramatically.
Because of the distinct propagation characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) waves at mmW frequencies compared to lower RF frequency bands, designing semiconductor circuits for 5G implementation at mmW frequencies presents a number of unique challenges.
The behavior of CMOS active and passive components also varies substantially at such high frequencies. Before a 5G network can properly develop globally, these challenges, as well as working on mmW frequencies, need to be fully understood.
If you’re old enough like me, seeing the changes that mobile communications underwent seems unbelievable. When 1G first emerged, no one imagined that people would be exchanging stock or buying food from their mobiles, but now it’s a reality.
In this process, a lot of invisible technologies had to develop, too, to support the change. Semiconductors played a big role in all of that. If you’re interested in learning more about wafers for communications, reach out to Wafer World!
