Power-efficient RIS for B5G/6G Networks: YTTEK’s EcoRIS Debuts at the Taiwan-EU 6G SNS Joint Seminar

Hsinchu, Taiwan – October 19, 2024 – YTTEK, a pioneer in Taiwan’s mmWave and software-defined radio technologies, is tackling the “coverage” issue of 6G networks with its latest EcoRIS Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS). Collaborating with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and 6G-Sandbox, YTTEK showcased its EcoRIS liquid-crystal RIS at the 3rd Taiwan–EU 6G SNS Joint Seminar. The product, currently under field testing in Malaga, Spain, targets improved urban coverage with ultra-low power consumption, positioning Taiwan as an active contributor to the global development of next-generation 6G infrastructure.

 

The EcoRIS is an innovative liquid-crystal RIS developed using a cost-effective 24-inch LCD panel. By harnessing the panel’s fine-pitch characteristics, each unit cell was meticulously engineered to be just one-fifth the size of a wavelength, resulting in a product comprising approximately 40,000 unit cells.

With power consumption below 2W—merely 5-10% of the energy typically required by mmWave small cells and repeaters—EcoRIS significantly reduced both energy usage and deployment costs. This remarkable efficiency positioned EcoRIS as a frontrunner in the ESG era, where sustainability and cost-effectiveness are paramount.

YTTEK’s CEO, Jiangson Chen, highlighted the pressing challenge of 5G mmWave, specifically the obstacles posed by walls and partitions that could obstruct signals indoors. He stated, “Our RIS product effectively addressed these challenges by allowing flexible adjustments to incident and reflection angles, ensuring robust signal coverage in diverse environments. EcoRIS employed liquid crystal technology for phase control, delivering superior phase resolution through precise voltage application. In contrast to PIN diode and Varactor-based RIS products, which required more components and incurred higher manufacturing costs, our liquid crystal solution was more mature, economical, and energy-efficient, providing a significant advantage in power consumption.”

Looking ahead to 2024, YTTEK announced plans to collaborate with UK-based DIREK and Surrey University, with support from the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) of the MoEA. By integrating DIREK’s positioning and AI-assisted tracking technology with Surrey University’s FR1 RIS design and measurement expertise, EcoRIS aimed to enhance its beam angle flexibility and control, balancing coverage and bandwidth requirements.

 

As the mmWave communication ecosystem continued to evolve, YTTEK actively forged partnerships with telecommunications equipment providers, system integrators, and telecom operators to expedite the development of EcoRIS network integration solutions. These initiatives aimed to empower customers to achieve optimal private network deployments, addressing the growing demand for high-speed, low-latency communication networks. EcoRIS is poised to become an indispensable product for mmWave communication network deployments.