Communication

Acreo is at the forefront of the application of nano technology to the field of communications. We offer competence and advanced nano-scale laboratories to help you develop new materials, components, and systems using any part of the electromagnetic spectrum. From dc to light.

Combined with our design and measurement laboratories, and novel integrated nano-components we are creating next generation communications solutions. And we are actively applying nanotechnology in the regime where nanoelectronics and optics are merging. Some of the activies we are involved in include:

High Speed Broadband Transceivers

Radio and radar systems are being continuously developed for higher speed communications, better performance and lower cost. This is placing demands for solutions for broader band components, more spectrally pure frequency generation, lower noise generation, lower power consumption, and higher and higher levels of integration. Simultaneously, nano-scale semiconductor devices and processes combined with new transceiver architectures are meeting these demands. We perform research (design, modeling, simulation, prototyping, testing) in multi-carrier transceiver development in the RF, microwave and optical domains using nanoscale semiconductor integration.

Arrays of surface-normal electroabsorption light modulators

Acreo is experienced in the development, fabrication and application of surface-normal electroabsorption modulators (with lateral dimension from 10µm to 15mm) operating at up to 10Gb/s for free-space optical communication and high-speed signal processing applications. Based on mature III-V technologies, dicrete components as well as modulator arrays have been succesfully developed at 850nm and 1550nm for different industrial and academic partners.

Advanced antenna systems

To increase the speed of communications systems, novel integrated antenna solutions are being developed at Acreo. Increasing spatial diversity using such techniques as MIMO have become common place in WLAN and mobile communications systems. Integrated phased array antennas are being applied to such applications as automotive radar, satellite communications and next generation Gb/s wireless links.

High frequency/High speed Integrated Circuits

Advanced nano-scale semiconductor processes are able to produce smaller transistors that operate at higher and higher speeds due to Moore’s Law scaling down of the device gate lengths. Unity gain frequency operation of the MOS transistor is approaching 1 THz which opens up the possibility of higher speed and higher frequency communications systems. Acreo is developing complex integrated circuits in silicon (CMOS, BiCMOS) and III-V materials (GaAs, InP) for emerging communications systems with transmission frequencies well over 100GHz.