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PUBLISHER: Zhar Research | PRODUCT CODE: 1512809

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PUBLISHER: Zhar Research | PRODUCT CODE: 1512809

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

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PAGES: 299 Pages
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Summary

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.

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
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