IMEC has expanded a chip platform that handles signals up to 325GHz, calling it the missing piece for affordable 6G hardware.
The Belgian semiconductor research institute added three new manufacturing capabilities to its 300mm RF silicon interposer platform. The upgrade extends coverage into the millimeter-wave and sub-terahertz frequency bands that 6G networks are expected to use, while achieving record-low signal loss at those ranges. IMEC counts more than 600 chip industry partners, so this kind of research tends to feed into commercial pipelines rather than stop at a whitepaper.
The cost angle is the real story. Millimeter-wave 5G promised fast, dense wireless coverage and largely underdelivered, partly because the radios and chips needed to run it were expensive and finicky to deploy at scale. The 300mm interposer approach matters because it fits into standard high-volume semiconductor fabrication, rather than requiring exotic materials or custom processes that inflate unit costs. If 6G is going to land somewhere besides airport terminals and sports stadiums, the economics of the underlying silicon have to work first.
"Closer to commercial viability" covers a lot of distance between a lab result and a carrier network - but at least someone is working on the boring manufacturing problem, not just the antenna roadmap.