6G Communications Grand Overview: Materials, Hardware Markets 2025-2045

Table of Contents

1. Executive summary and conclusions

• 1.1. Purpose of this report and background
• 1.2. Methodology of this analysis
• 1.3. 29 Primary conclusions
  • 1.3.1. General
  • 1.3.2. 6G Phase One materials and hardware opportunities
  • 1.3.3. 6G Phase Two materials and hardware opportunities
• 1.4. Progress from 1G-6G rollouts 1980-2045
• 1.5. Summary of the two 6G phases
• 1.6. Infograms: Planned 6G hardware deployment by land, water, air
• 1.7. Likely 6G hardware landscape with examples of manufacturers
• 1.8. Infograms: Evolution of 6G base station hardware
• 1.9. Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces: research analysis, SWOT appraisals
• 1.10. 6G hardware strong trend from components-in-a-box to smart materials
• 1.11. 6G infrastructure and client devices trending to zero energy devices ZED
• 1.12. Progress to 6G thermal interface materials and other cooling
• 1.13. Popularity of carbons and compounds in 436 examples of recent 6G research
• 1.14. Roadmaps of 6G materials and hardware 2025-2045
• 1.15. Market forecasts for 6G materials and hardware to 2045 in 15 lines and graphs
  • 1.15.1. Market for 6G vs 5G base stations units millions yearly 2024-2045
  • 1.15.2. Market for 6G base stations market value $bn if successful 2025-2045
  • 1.15.3. 6G RIS value market $ billion: active and three semi-passive categories 2029-2045: table, graphs
  • 1.15.4. 6G fully passive metamaterial reflect-array market $ billion 2029-2045
  • 1.15.5. 6G added value materials value market by segment: Thermal, Low Loss, Other 2028-2045
  • 1.15.6. Smartphone billion units sold globally 2023-2045 if 6G is successful

2. 6G definitions, rollout phases, challenges prioritised, initiatives, hardware suppiers

• 2.1. Overview
• 2.2. Some objectives of 6G mostly not achievable at start
• 2.3. Hardware impact of 6G non-hardware developments
• 2.4. Incremental 6G launch then a disruptive, very difficult second phase
• 2.5. New needs, 5G inadequacies, massive overlap 4G, 5G, 6G
• 2.6. Objectives and perceptions of those most heavily investing in 6G
• 2.7. Essential frequencies for 6G success and some hardware resulting
• 2.8. Primary wireless transmission tools of 6G compared by frequency
• 2.9. 6G hardware requirements can only be met with a strong trend from components-in-a-box to smart materials

3. 6G base stations reinvented, 6G drones, 6G satcoms

• 3.1. Overview
• 3.2. Primary 6G systems objectives with major hardware opportunities starred
• 3.3. Terrestrial 6G base station hardware evolution
  • 3.3.1. 6G needs UM-MIMO to meet its promises
  • 3.3.2. The escalating power problem
  • 3.3.3. Infogram: Evolution of 6G base station hardware
  • 3.3.4. RIS-enabled, self-sufficient ultra-massive 6G UM-MIMO base station design
  • 3.3.5. Semiconductors needed
  • 3.3.6. RIS as small cell base station
  • 3.3.7. RIS-enabled massive MIMO
  • 3.3.8. Other MIMO large area RIS advances
  • 3.3.9. RIS for massive MIMO base station: Tsinghua University, Emerson
  • 3.3.10. Planned ELAA
• 3.4. Satellites serving 6G
  • 3.4.1. Introduction
  • 3.4.2. RIS-empowered LEO satellite networks for 6G
• 3.5. UAV drones serving 6G
  • 3.5.1. 6G aiding drone services and drones as part of 6G
  • 3.5.2. Large stratospheric HAPS as part of 6G
  • 3.5.3. Aerial 6G base station research
• 3.6. Research in 2024 related to aerial 6G: 82 other papers
• 3.7. 2023 research examples

4. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces RIS and metamaterial reflect-arrays

• 4.1. Definition, design, deployment with six infograms
  • 4.1.1. Definition and basics
  • 4.1.2. Six formats of communications metamaterial with examples
  • 4.1.3. Infogram: 6G RIS and other metamaterial in action: the dream
  • 4.1.4. Infogram: Ubiquitous 6G and complementary systems using RIS with references to recent research
  • 4.1.5. Ultimate objectives: self-powered, self-adaptive, invisible, all-round coverage, multifunctional smart material
  • 4.1.6. Too few hardware experiments for 6G RIS. 5G RIS design largely irrelevant
• 4.2. Choosing complementary 6G frequencies
  • 4.2.1. Frequency choices and range achievements
  • 4.2.2. How attenuation in air by frequency and type 0.1THz to visible is complementary
• 4.3. Infogram: The Terahertz Gap demands 6G RIS tuning materials and devices different from 5G
• 4.4. RIS design and deployment 2025-2045
  • 4.4.1. Overview
  • 4.4.2. Key issues, operational principles, control by total RIS panel, tiles or elements
  • 4.4.3. Active intelligent RIS and their integration with passive RIS
  • 4.4.4. RIS-enabled SWIPT, STIIPT, AmBC, STAR-RIS
• 4.5. Materials and devices for RIS tuning
  • 4.5.1. Infogram: RIS specificity, tuning criteria, physical principles, activation options
  • 4.5.2. 6G RIS tuning material benefits and challenges compared
  • 4.5.3. Analysis of 225 recent research papers and company activity
  • 4.5.4. Comparison of RIS tuning materials winning in 6G RIS-related research
• 4.6. Manufacturing technology for 6G RIS and reflect-arrays
  • 4.6.1. Manufacture overview
  • 4.6.2. Resolution requirements and printing options for required metamaterials and their tuning materials
  • 4.6.3. Near-infrared and visible light ORIS and allied device design and manufacture
• 4.7. RIS cost analysis
  • 4.7.1. Outdoor semi-passive and active RIS cost analysis at high areas of deployment
  • 4.7.2. Indoor semi-passive RIS cost analysis at volume
• 4.8. 6G RIS SWOT appraisal

5. Invisibility solves acceptance and performance problems: Transparent passive reflect-arrays and all-round STAR RIS

• 5.1. Overview
• 5.2. Situation with transparent 6G transmission-handling surfaces in 2024-5
• 5.3. Options for 6G beam-handling surfaces that can be visually transparent or opaque
• 5.4. Transparent IRS and RIS can go almost anywhere
• 5.5. Transparent passive intelligent reflecting surface IRS: Meta Nanoweb-R Sekisui
• 5.6. Optically transparent and transmissive mmWave and THz RIS
  • 5.6.1. Overview
  • 5.6.2. NTT DOCOMO transparent RIS
  • 5.6.3. Cornell University RIS prototype and later work elsewhere
• 5.7. Simultaneous transmissive and reflective STAR RIS
  • 5.7.1. Overview
  • 5.7.2. STAR-RIS optimisation
  • 5.7.3. STAR-RIS-ISAC integrated sensing and communication system
  • 5.7.4. TAIS Transparent Amplifying Intelligent Surface and SWIPT active STAR-RIS
  • 5.7.5. STAR-RIS with energy harvesting and adaptive power
  • 5.7.6. Potential STAR-RIS applications including MIMO and security
• 5.8. STAR RIS SWOT appraisal
• 5.9. Other research papers analysed from 2024
• 5.10. Other research papers analysed from 2023

6. Zero energy devices ZED in 6G infrastructure and as 6G client devices

• 6.1. Overview
  • 6.1.1. Scope
  • 6.1.2. Key enabling technologies of ZED communication devices
• 6.2. Context of ZED
  • 6.2.1. Overlapping and adjacent technologies and examples of long-life energy independence
  • 6.2.2. Reasons for the trend to ZED
  • 6.2.3. Electrical autonomy examples that last for the life of their host equipment
  • 6.2.4. Examples of ZED successes 1980-2035
• 6.3. 6G becoming zero-energy, often battery-free
  • 6.3.1. Situation with primary 6G infrastructure and client devices
  • 6.3.2. Eight options that can be combined for 6G ZED
  • 6.3.3. Increasing electricity consumption of electronics and 6G ZED harvesting strategies
  • 6.3.4. The place of ZED in 6G investment focus
• 6.4. Primary candidate enabling technologies for battery-free 6G ZED
  • 6.4.1. 13 on-board harvesting technologies compared and prioritised for 6G ZED
  • 6.4.2. Infogram: Maturity of primary ZED enabling technologies in 2025
  • 6.4.3. 6G ZED enabling materials research ranking
• 6.5. Analysis of specific 6G ZED design approaches
  • 6.5.1. Targets and prioritisation
  • 6.5.2. Device architecture
  • 6.5.3. Energy harvesting system improvement strategies
  • 6.5.4. Device battery-free storage: supercapacitors, LIC, massless energy
  • 6.5.5. Example: IOT ZED enabled by LIC hybrid supercapacitor
• 6.5.6."Massless energy" for ZED: structural supercapacitors without increase in size or weight
  • 6.5.7. SWOT appraisal of battery-less storage technologies for ZED
• 6.6. Ambient backscatter communications AmBC, crowd detectable CD-ZED, SWIPT
• 6.7. SWOT appraisal of circuits and infrastructure that eliminate storage
• 6.8. Further research from 2024

7. 6G enabling hardware technologies: metamaterials, transparent electronics, self-healing, self-cleaning, low-loss dielectrics, thermal materials, multifunctional structural electronics, massless energy

• 7.1. Overview
  • 7.1.1. 6G needs incremental then disruptive change in devices and materials
  • 7.1.2. Infogram 6G electronics megatrend: components-in-a-box to thin film technology to smart materials
• 7.2 6G transparent electronics
  • 7.2.1. Manufacture and applications of transparent electronics generally
  • 7.2.2. Electrically-functionalised transparent glass for 6G Communications OTA, TIRS
• 7.3. Self-cleaning materials for 6G
• 7.4. Self-healing materials for 6G
• 7.5. Metamaterials for 6G
  • 7.5.1. Overview and potential uses
  • 7.5.2. The place of metamaterials in 5G and 6G
  • 7.5.3. Hypersurfaces, bifunctional metasurfaces including RIS windows that cool
  • 7.5.4. Commercial, operational, theoretical, structural options compared 4G to 6G
  • 7.5.5. The meta-atom and patterning options
  • 7.5.6. Tunable metamaterials for 6G going beyond RIS
  • 7.5.8. SWOT appraisal for metamaterials and metasurfaces
• 7.6. Next technologies for solid-state cooling 6G infrastructure and devices
  • 7.6.1. Overview
  • 7.6.2. Progress to 6G thermal interface materials and other cooling by thermal conduction
  • 7.6.3. SWOT appraisal for silicone thermal conduction materials if used for 6G
  • 7.6.4. 2024 research announcing new multifunctional composites providing cooling potentially 6G
  • 7.6.5. Infograms: The cooling toolkit
  • 7.6.6. Research pipeline of solid-state cooling by topic vs technology readiness level
  • 7.6.7. The most needed compounds for future solid-state cooling from 211 recent researches
  • 7.6.8. Eight SWOT appraisals: solid-state cooling in general and seven emerging versions
• 7.7. 6G low loss materials infograms and SWOT: choices narrow as frequency increases

8. Some small companies involved in 6G device manufacturing technologies

• 8.1. AALTO HAPS UK, Germany, France
• 8.2. Echodyne USA
• 8.3. Evolv Technology USA
• 8.4. Fractal Antenna Systems USA
• 8.5. Greenerwave France
• 8.6. iQLP USA
• 8.7. Kymeta Corp. USA
• 8.8. LATYS Intelligence Canada
• 8.9. Meta Materials Canada
• 8.10. Metacept Systems USA
• 8.11. Metawave USA
• 8.12. Pivotal Commware USA
• 8.13. SensorMetrix USA
• 8.14. Teraview USA