At the “Information Exchange and Technology Platform Seminar” held on November 21, 2009 at STM, a presentation on “Communicating on the 60 GHz Band: Theoretical and Practical Insights” was delivered by Yavuz YAPICI from the Systems Department.

Saying that the concentration on the 0-3 GHz frequency spectrum used by current communication systems coupled with the growing demand for bandwidth makes it necessary to allocate the higher frequency blocks of the RF (radio frequency) spectrum that are not yet in use, YAPICI said that one of the most popular parts of the frequency spectrum worked on in line with the emerging needs is the 60 GHz band. YAPICI said that this band, which is allocated unlicensed in many countries, has been opened for use as a 7 GHz wide block by FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, responsible for the management of the frequency spectrum in the US, and that the standardization works related to the technologies that will be used on this frequency band are being carried out by the “IEEE 802.15.3c WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network)” working group.

YAPICI said that the signals used by the 60 GHz band can scatter only for short distances since they are intensively absorbed by the oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, and added that the adverse weather conditions such as fog, rain etc that cause condensation of the water vapour further shortens this distance.

Emphasizing that the systems operating on the 60 GHz band have become powerful alternatives for services with high data speeds due to their low interference and high frequency reuse rates, YAPICI added that the   60 GHz band brings various challenges with regard to system design. Saying that a considerably high carrier frequency and a high Doppler frequency is required and that the current methods used for channel estimation cause performance losses, YAPICI stressed that on the frequency block in question it is necessary to use point-to-point LOS (line of sight) systems rather than the common systems that use multi-path fading, because of the reduced signal scattering in most objects.

With its knowledge and experience on systems to be designed for the 60 GHz frequency block, STM continues to work so as to meet the requirements of various sectors, particularly the Turkish Defence Industry.