Siliconization of 60 GHz

Silicon-based RF and microwave technology has had a dramatic impact on the world of wireless technology. We can now access voice/data and entertainment in virtually every corner of the globe - with everything from short range Bluetooth and WiFi networks to cellular and satellite networks - to meet different range and throughput requirements. A laptop computer without wireless capability is unthinkable today, whereas, ten years ago, these technologies were in their infancy.What do the next ten years hold? What gaps in wireless technology exist even today? Perhaps the most obvious missing link is between the various devices that we carry with us, such as cellular phones or personal digital assistants (or smart phones if you prefer), digital cameras, music and video players (such as the ubiquitous iPod), laptops, and peripherals such as external hard drives and monitors. The case of the mobile smart phone is particularly important since the existing wireless connectivity is either too slow and power hungry (Bluetooth) or designed and optimized for longer ranges (WiFi). What is missing is a wireless universal connectivity that can support high data rates demanded by large data rate multimedia applications. Wireless technology has been conspicuously absent from MP3 music players (such as Apple's iPod), which are ideal candidates for downloading music and video. While ultrawideband (UWB) technology using the 3-0 GHz band promised to fulfill these needs, it fell short in many ways, and, today, most of the start-up companies pursuing UWB have folded.