POSTECH, Dongwoo Fine-Chem, SK Telecom, LG Electronics, Keysight Technologies and Y.Tech develop a next-generation 5G terminal antenna system, verified through actual 28 GHz signal measurements.
Which country first introduced the full-touch phone, replacing physical buttons with an on-screen keypad? Korea. Though now familiar, the form was introduced just 12 years ago and transformed mobile communications so completely that earlier phone designs seem distant. Korea may now introduce another world first: an innovative 5G smartphone with its antennas moved into the display.
On the 27th, POSTECH and leading domestic and overseas companies announced the world's first display-integrated antenna technology. Led by Professor Wonbin Hong's team, it is the first joint outcome of Korea's first multilateral industry–university collaboration model of this kind. Actual communications testing has already been completed, raising expectations for an unprecedented phone design.
5G, described as capable of downloading a 1 GB movie in a second, offers over 20 times LTE's speed. Antennas are a challenge: at its very high frequencies, the article explains, where LTE might operate by receiving 1,000 signals, 5G needs to combine 10,000, requiring more antennas. Future smartphones must also be thinner, foldable and high-performing. Limited space in mobile devices makes antenna count a persistent challenge, and companies are competing to develop antenna technologies for 5G commercialization.
Professor Hong's team developed foundational technology embedding antennas directly into displays. Dozens can be installed without occupying separate space or being visible in high-resolution OLED or LCD screens. The team and Dongwoo Fine-Chem developed a transparent thin-film material and formed antennas from it. They integrated the display into an LG smartphone and successfully verified microwave transmission and reception with 28 GHz signals at SK Telecom's 5G Device Test Lab.
The work is significant as Korea's first university-centered multilateral collaboration involving leading domestic and overseas companies. It was published in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.
Hong described this first phase as fundamentally overcoming wireless devices' physical constraints by moving antennas into the display, much as full-touch phones innovated by removing keypads. He expects it to accelerate innovative 5G smartphones and future-device commercialization in Korea. SK Telecom 5GX Labs Head Jong-Kwan Park pledged to expand world-leading 5G service and lead new technology development. The Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation also partly supported the research.