Magnetic Nanopowder For 6G Technology
While carriers are still in the process of rolling out 5G communication in certain areas an even faster network technology, known as 6G (sixth generation), is taking shape. It really is humanity’s way — progress, progress, progress.
Progress is never without its challenges, and there are still hurdles between 5G and 6G. Historically, one of the materials used in its production — epsilon iron oxide — has been difficult to produce in large quantities, making industrial application a challenge.
But, as one might have predicted, scientists have come up with a potential answer, developing and publishing a method for producing the rare form of iron oxide (III) at an accelerated rate, and demonstrating its use for 6G wireless communication.
Epsilon Iron Oxide for 6G
Iron oxide (III), one of the most common oxides, can be found as alpha iron oxide (a-Fe203) and gamma modification (y-Fe203), as well as epsilon-, beta-, zeta-, and glassy. The most coveted form, epsilon iron oxide (ε-Fe2O3), has super cool magnetic properties and meets the criteria for wireless communication. Epsilon iron oxide can do the following:- Resist external magnetic fields (comparable to parameters of magnets based on expensive rare earth magnets)
- Absorb electromagnetic radiation in the sub-terahertz frequency range through natural ferromagnetic resonance.
Problem vs. Solution
As mentioned above, there are hurdles. First, epsilon iron oxide is rare and produced in small quantities due to a complex synthesis process that can take up to a month. Fortunately, the new method developed by researchers is inexpensive, has an accelerated synthesis (30x faster), and would require iron and silicon, which happen to be two of the most abundant elements on Earth.The Future of 6G
Although progress is… well, in progress, the race to 6G technology is not expected to end until the 2030s. But when the time comes, what can we expect? First, the market will likely facilitate improvements in imaging, device tracking, data storage, processing, and sharing. 6G will also have big implications for:- Threat detection
- Health monitoring
- Facial recognition
- Law enforcement
- Air quality measurements
- Gas and toxicity sensing