Plasma Antennas Hopes to Cut 5G Base Stations Cost in Half

The mmWave Plasma Silicon Antenna. Photo: Plasma Antennas.

Plasma Antennas has unveiled its mmWave Plasma Silicon Antenna (PSiAN), which aims to offer improvements in performance for 5G base stations compared to the current generation of technology. According to the company, the antenna cuts the cost of a 5G base station by up to 50 percent by eliminating phase shifters, reducing and consolidating amplification and reducing computation.

The PSiAN has no moving parts. The technology does not need calibration and can handle practically unlimited power, Plasma Antennas stated, having already been tested up to 40 watts. The PSiAN also has an omni mode, when it draws no power at all.

The company has tested the technology in a variety of scenarios, including 360 degree field of view beam forming and steering 28GHz 5W PSiAN, useful for pole-mounted small cells, indoor small cells, or on a vehicle, and a high power, long range, low loss small cell base station antenna for standalone and Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO) 5G, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), and connected vehicle applications. These devices can also be stacked to form and steer beams in two dimensions (azimuth and elevation), or to form multiple beams and MIMO applications.