Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have created a new chip designed to cancel on-channel interference using an adaptive beamforming technique. While the ability to make such a device has already existed for some time, the UTwente chip can be manufactured more cheaply and economically than any of its predecessors.
The device, developed by postgraduate student Michiel Soer, includes inputs for four antennas, each with its own adjustable delay circuit, and a “combiner” to merge the delayed signals from the antennas. By adjusting the delay on each input, the device is able to cancel interfering signals; the delays can also be adapted accordingly as these signals change.
“The malfunctioning signal is taken care of because the circuits on our chip process the incoming signals mathematically,” explains Bram Nauta, a professor in Integrated Circuit Design at the University of Twente. “The system can be compared to road traffic. The cars are little packaging containing information. At the moment, ‘traffic’ is regulated with traffic lights and ‘cars’ have to wait for one another. The antenna that Michiel has designed has replaced the traffic lights with viaducts. The cars can carry on travelling, without bumping into one another or having to wait. This will make internet faster.”
The chip is likely to be available on the market within two years, says Nauta, and could be used in laptops, tablets, routers and cell phones.
A laboratory demonstration and in-depth explanation of how the chip works is presented by Michiel Soer in the YouTube video, “Antenna Beamforming for Wireless Communications,” above.
