6G Communications Grand Overview: Materials, Hardware Markets 2025-2045
The situation has changed. Certain 6G objectives are deservedly receiving strong emphasis and others are being quietly shelved making older analyses of your materials and device opportunities misleading. To the rescue comes the new 299-page report, “6G Communications Grand Overview: Materials, Hardware Markets 2025-2045”. Uniquely, it analyses the hundreds of new research reports and initiatives through 2024, constantly updated so you only get the latest. For example, it shows how more of your opportunities will now come from such things as reinvented base stations, active reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, self-powered equipment, transparent electronics and multifunctional smart materials. It profiles new small companies involved. There are drill-down reports available on specifics.
Questions answered include:
Critical appraisal?
Gaps in the market?
Frequencies when, why, what benefits?
Analysis of 1000 recent research papers?
Which materials and manufacturing, why, when?
How have priorities radically changed recently, why?
Potential partners and acquisitions and their progress?
Which countries, companies and researchers are ahead?
20-year roadmap of decision making, technical capability and adoption?
What metasurfaces, tuning, thermal, low-loss, optical materials, devices?
The emphasis is commercial and PhD level analysis presented clearly, including 13 SWOT appraisals, 15 new forecast lines plus roadmaps to 2045, 23 new infograms, 29 key conclusions and over 100 companies mentioned. The 44-page “Executive summary and conclusions” is sufficient in itself, including those roadmaps and forecasts as tables and graphs with explanation.
Chapter 2 is a brief 11 pages introducing, “6G definitions, rollout phases, challenges prioritised, initiatives, hardware suppiers”. Mostly, that consists of information-packed images. Chapter 3, “6G base stations reinvented, 6G drones, 6G satcoms” covers these interlinked topics all advancing rapidly. Does the telecom tower become an invisible capability on a high-rise building, self-powered despite escalating power needs? Can a solar drone aloft for five years replace hundreds of terrestrial base stations as proponents claim? The 33 pages are detailed, including a close look at frequency choices and latest range improvements. An example is, “ 3.6 Research in 2024 related to aerial 6G: 82 other papers” which highlights certain important new hardware opportunities emerging.
The 37-page Chapter 4, “Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces RIS and metamaterial reflect-arrays” concerns shows how these are becoming more important and changing in form. The primitive reflect-arrays will be useful as smart windows but 6G proliferates attack vectors and RIS enhances security, not just range and reach of the signal beams. Learn how low-cost, semi-passive RIS taking almost no power remain important for 6G, particularly as they abandon discrete components, but active RIS are now coming center stage for a stream of reasons including further improving range, reach and functionality by amplifying and focussing beams, incorporating sensing, overcoming multiplicative fading, operating unpowered client devices, some without batteries, and much more. Objectives now include self-powered, self-adaptive, self-healing, multifunctional smart material. How? What materials? See the future metasurfaces for you to make, RIS cost analysis, feature sizes, manufacturing technologies.
Reflecting another new emphasis and opportunity, Chapter 5 is “Invisibility solves acceptance and performance problems: Transparent passive reflect-arrays and all-round STAR RIS”. In 33 pages you learn how this makes them acceptable on the sides of building, as windows and even giving 360-degree beam manipulation reducing the numbers needed to realistic levels. Useful for 6G UM-MIMO base stations? Activities of several large companies are here with latest research breakthroughs and STAR-RIS SWOT appraisal.
Another horizontally-applicable 6G technology is brings new materials and device opportunities. It is the subject of Chapter 6, “Zero energy devices ZED in 6G infrastructure and as 6G client devices”. Energy independence across most 6G infrastructure and client devices is now seen to solve many challenges including installation, maintenance, quality of service, size and weight. Benchmarking of success elsewhere shows how the ambition now realistically extends to battery-free devices. How? The chapter therefore embraces a large number of forms of on-board energy harvesting for devices up to base stations, non-battery storage options emerging and use of simultaneous wireless information and power transfer SWIPT, ambient backscatter AmBC, crowd-detectable ZED, and more. See many 2024 research advances and SWOT appraisals in 45 pages.
In the recent pivoting of 6G attitudes it is realised that 0.3-1THz versions may be a bridge too far outdoors, but wireless optical transmission can be very impactful. We can also apply far more advanced material technologies. The actual materials science you may supply rather that the applications are the focus of 46-page Chapter 7, “6G enabling hardware technologies: metamaterials, transparent electronics, self-healing, self-cleaning, low-loss dielectrics, thermal materials, multifunctional structural electronics, massless energy”. For example, massless energy is when energy storage and harvesting are performed by smart materials replacing windows and load-bearing structures without penalty in weight or size. Cooling is a huge issue nowadays and smart 6G designers will make 6G windows that also cool the building without moving parts. Eight SWOT appraisals assess these and other options.
The report then closes with the 30 pages of Chapter 8 critically appraising 14 small companies making exciting progress in this space and worth considering as your suppliers, partners or acquisitions.
Report can be found in our shop here.