Need for further miniaturization, high performance, and low power consumption
One reason for this greatly widening application of wireless LANs is the development of very small and thin LAN modules and antennas that can be incorporated into compact electronic devices. In addition, since information devices such as portable game consoles and PDAs basically operate on batteries, manufacturers have been actively developing key components such as power amplifiers that achieve higher efficiency and lower power consumption.

When combined with PCs or audio-video equipment, wireless LANs need to be able to stably send and receive a large volume of multimedia data including motion pictures. To this end, these devices are increasingly adopting the high-speed wireless LAN standards IEEE802.11g and IEEE802.11a, which deliver up to 54 Mbps of transmission speed. While 11g uses the 2.4 GHz band, in which transmission speed may decrease due to interference with other types of equipment such as microwave ovens, 11a uses the 5 GHz band to provide a more stable communications environment. However, 5 GHz radio waves have high linearity, and therefore performance of a 5 GHz wireless LAN may decrease when there is a wall or other obstacle in its communication path. Since outdoor use of 5 GHz wireless LANs is currently prohibited in Japan, only the 2.4 GHz-bandwidth type is used for outdoor access points. To ensure stable communications, an increasing number of new wireless LAN devices such as wireless LCD TV sets support both 11a and 11g, and automatically switch between these standards depending on the available signal. It is obvious that these latest models need further high-performance and high-quality components, such as highly durable semiconductor devices suitable for use in high frequency bands and compact dual-band antennas that can support both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

To meet these increasingly advanced needs of the market, wireless LAN equipment vendors are adopting the latest technologies, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) compound semiconductors and film antennas. They are trying to achieve ever higher performance, lower power consumption, and smaller footprints for wireless LAN modules and antennas.

Figure: Present status of radio wave utilization in Japan

Toward a ubiquitous computing age
With an increase in performance in wireless LAN modules and antennas, wireless LAN technology will further increase its scope of application. In anticipation of this, development efforts are already underway to define a set of short-distance wireless communications standards called UWB (ultra wide band). UWB LANs will be faster than existing wireless LANs, enough so to make it possible to handle large volumes of multimedia data (including motion pictures and games) comfortably.

Wireless LAN technology is expected to be used in a wide range of social activities and play an important role in actualizing a “ubiquitous society” in which people can access necessary information anywhere, at any time.