Scientists develop ‘full-spectrum’ 6G chip that could transfer data at 100 gigabits per second — 10,000 times faster than 5G
Scientists in China and the United States have developed a small 6G chip that could make slow and unreliable data speeds in the countryside of the past – and it is faster than the current download speeds of your smartphone.
5G is the current gold stallion for wireless communications, and it generally uses frequencies below 6 Gigahertz, although this varies from country to country. The most efficient cellular network in the United States in the first half of 2025 offered a 5G download speed of 299.36 Megabits per second.
On the other hand, 6g, Salts Experts will be ready in 2030should use several frequency bands and can be 10,000 times faster than 5G. The problem with the 6G drawing, however, is that the devices will need several components to exploit the different radio -frequency bands – something that is missing from modern devices.
But now, the researchers have integrated the entire wireless spectrum covering nine radio strips (RF) – from 0.5 to 110 GHz – in a chip measuring only 0.07 per 0.43 inches (1.7 per 11 millimeters).
The new chip is also able to reach a data transmission rate of more than 100 gigabits per second, including low bands used in rural areas, where speeds can be notoriously slow. Communication also remained stable on the whole spectrum, the researchers revealed. They revealed their research in a study published on August 27 in the journal Nature.
To put this data speed in context, 1,000 smartphones integrated into the chip could disseminate an ultra-up 8k definition video simultaneously without lower performance, According to Chinese state media Xinhua.
In relation: Wireless data speeds have reached 938 GBPS – a new record and 10,000 times faster than 5G
This “material solution to a single size”, as scientists have described it in the study, could be dynamically reconfigured to change the frequency strip depending on the moment when necessary.
This is important because the devices that hold in 6G will use different wireless spectra – microwave strips, millimeters (mmwave) with Térahertz bands (THZ) – The researchers have noted.
The high frequency mmwave and subthz strips – between 100 GHz and 300 GHz – will be used for applications that require extremely low latency, such as artificial intelligence (IA) at high speed and remote sensing. But bands of less than 6 GHz and microwaves are still necessary to provide coverage in large areas, said scientists in the study.
An approach based on the light of 6G
The problem with current wireless equipment said scientists in the study is that it is designed to operate in a narrow frequency. In the current state of things, the deployment of 6G would require several different systems for different bands, which would make large -scale deployment costly and complex.
The new researchers’ chip could potentially replace several systems by adopting a double electro -optical approach – using light to generate stable signals through the RF spectrum. An electro-optical modulator with wide strip converts wireless signals into optical signals, which then went through adjustable optorelectronic oscillators-These circuits use light and electricity to generate radio frequencies, from microwave to Thz band.
Scientists have made their chip from slimium niobate with thin layers (TFLN), instead of traditional lithium niobate, which is used to modulate high speed light. TFLN has become The reference for new generation telecommunications equipment Due to its ability to provide higher passenger bands to lower latency.
When 6G is deployed and more people require more data, cellular networks will inevitably become crowded – as 5G networks are peak hours. Higher traffic could cause congestion and slower data speeds.
The new system avoids interference by using what researchers describe as “adaptive spectrum management”. Normally, the signals are piled up in one or two frequency bands, but with this new chip, signals can switch between several frequencies without transmission of compromised data. This could reduce the probability of reporting problems during major events or in overcrowded spaces, where tens of thousands of devices simultaneously connect to a network.
“This technology is like building a super wide highway where electronic signals are vehicles and frequency bands are tracks”, the main author of the study Wang XingjunThe dean partner of the School of Electronics of the University of Beijing, told Xinhua.
While Wang and his co-authors believe that their full spectrum 6G chip “has the potential to be integrated into all compatible devices, a lot of work must be done to develop the infrastructure for the next generation of wireless communications.
