6G Communications: Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Materials and Hardware Markets: GHz, THz, Optical 2024-2044

6G wireless communication coming in around 2030 needs new materials and devices not least “Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces RIS” everywhere. Some years will see over 200 million square meters deployed, hardware sales rising to over $12 billion yearly. The new report, "6G Communications: Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Materials and Hardware Markets: SubTHz, THz, Optical 2024-2044" gives the latest situation and prospects ahead. Uniquely focusing on clearly identifying the materials and hardware needed, free of the obscure software analysis and mathematics of other reports. It is based on close analysis of what is needed, what will possible, the research pipeline - much boosted in 2023 - and how the participants are repositioning. Reports not analysing these major changes from 2023 are relatively useless. 

The report finds that, without RIS, there will be no 6G. These metasurfaces empowering the propagation path and enhancing base stations will be key both to affordable 6G deployment and to delivering its essential business cases. RIS will appear in many different forms and at many frequencies, some RIS even being transparent to retrofit on windows. 

The report advises that, like 5G, 6G will start at the bottom of an envisaged band - here probably 0.1-0.3THz - to get huge performance increase - then add up to higher frequency versions for stellar performance when the massive challenges analysed in this report are overcome, maybe a Phase 2 in 2035. That may involve adding 0.3-1THz capability, active (powered) RIS that operates unpowered client devices, near infrared and visible light RIS and other advances forecasted. 

Within that, expect major demand for the value-added materials involved including graphene, 3-5 compounds, vanadium dioxide, sapphires and certain organics that are detailed and fine patterning, transparency, chip arrays and other requirements make the market attractive, avoiding commoditisation. Vast areas od regular polymer films as substrates are another aspect.

The Executive Summary and Conclusions has 35 information-packed pages, mostly 16 key conclusions, new infograms, tables, graphs and SWOT RIS appraisal. There is a detailed roadmap and 21 forecast lines 2024-2044. 

The 99-page Introduction then gives unusually comprehensive coverage of the basics as seen in the very different light of 2023 onwards with a profusion of references for further reading. It includes basic RIS design and purpose, derisking investment for multiple applications, for this report is commercially oriented. See infograms of intended 6G and its RIS across land, sea and air plus what companies are likely to participate where. Understand the unsolved 6G rural challenge and difficulty providing extra infrastructure and many functions. Here you navigate the confusions of RIS terminology, metamaterials and metasurfaces involved, six operational and three directional modes. Such RIS and 6G are compared to traditional approaches and the need for better focus in objectives and standards becoming urgent, since RIS hardware lags progress in 6G system design. Because this is analysis not evangelism, there is a very close look at the pros and cons of frequency choices and RIS becoming part of the problem of this industry grabbing too much of the world’s electricity supply, creating heat.

The 32 pages of Chapter 3 are on “Metamaterials and manufacturing technologies for 6G and major advances and changed views from 2023”. Understand the meta-atom pattern behaves like an atom, the patterning commercial, operational, theoretical, structural and manufacturing options. Six formats metamaterial are here with materials examples leading to metasurfaces, hypersurfaces and the long-term picture of metamaterials overall, even metasurface energy harvesting likely for 6G then applications of GHz, THz, infrared and optical metamaterials. There is a SWOT assessment. However, vitally, half the chapter reveals major changes in 6G perceptions, plans and progress from 2023 starting with 15 examples analysed. New infograms and a SWOT make it easy to grasp. 

Chapter 4 runs to a full 99 pages in order to drill down into detailed materials and device aspects of the different RIS designs needed for different frequency bands and so on. See appraisal of 9 tuning device families for RIS from the recent research pipeline and where the research will be headed in future. There is detail on beam forming, many operating principles affecting materials choices, the merits of semi-passive. Understand active RIS components including such things as High Electron Mobility Transistors HEMT, hybrid CMOS, phase change materials such as vanadium dioxide and chalcogenides and trials of graphene plasmonics in RIS. Learn more on coping with the terahertz gap and on making transparent RIS. Throughout, the latest advances from 2023 are particularly explored.

Chapter 5 concerns 6G THz reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in action: materials, hardware, location and installation issues.