​​​​​​​I had the pleasure of presenting in the 5G Communications Breakout Session at the 3DEXPERIENCE® Modeling & Simulation Conference in Novi, Michigan. Also presenting were Jonathan Oakley (SIMULIA EMAG Experience Management Director) and Chris Jones (SIMULIA NAM Center of Excellence, Solution Consultant). For those who were unable to attend, I want to summarize some of the topics that were covered.

5G is the fifth generation cellular network standard, which promises extremely fast communication, ultra-reliable low-latency links for real time communication and interaction, and support for huge numbers of connected devices in small areas. Beyond just providing faster internet access to more users, 5G will enable new technologies and new ways of doing business across industries, from smart vehicles and smart manufacturing to smart cities where multiple data streams are optimizing efficiency & sustainability in real time. The 5G network will especially help establish the Internet of Things as an indispensable part of our world by laying the foundation for unleashing its full potential. 5G is poised to revolutionize segments of the health care industry that require low latency response times such as robot-assisted telesurgery and reliable, real-time remote monitoring.

5G systems use high frequency electromagnetic signals with Gigahertz (GHz) wavelengths in the millimeter range. Device manufacturers and network infrastructure providers have the challenging task of delivering the expected high performance in a short time, within specific cost parameters, and without compromising compliance and safety standards. Therefore, the ability to simulate a product’s electromagnetic behavior before it goes to market is critical.

First, electromagnetic simulation is critical to the design of antennas to increase throughput — the amount of data a device can download — using MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology and active antennas (versus passive devices like metal rods, capacitors, and conductors). Second, electromagnetic energy coupling due to radiation, reflection and crosstalk can cause reliability challenges affecting signal integrity between traces on printed circuit boards. Finally, electromagnetic simulation is critical to avoid electromagnetic interference, which can cause network malfunctions and even total device and equipment failure in mission critical operations. SIMULIA CST Studio Suite electromagnetic field simulation software offers accurate and efficient computational solutions for electromagnetic designs in all of the applications mentioned above (see image).

CST POWER’BY is now available on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Take a peek at CST POWER’BY in action in this demo video.