The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has created a new electrical component that shows the potential to exceed 5G connectivity's expected speed. The resonant tunneling diode is made from gallium nitride and works to transport electrons at fast speeds via quantum tunneling, an occurrence wherein electrons move through physical barriers to produce current, NRL said Friday.
“Our work showed that gallium nitride-based RTDs are not inherently slow, as others suggested,” said Tyler Growden, an electrical engineer working on the program. The technology holds the potential for use in electromagnetic applications such as networking and communications.
Growden and physicist David Storm worked on the effort with partners from industry, Wright State University and Ohio State University. The two NRL researchers published their findings on the GaN tunneling diode in Applied Physics Letters, a research journal.
The team plans to continue the development of RTD, with the goal to boost current output without having to sacrifice power.
