6G Transceiver and Radio Design
Book chapter, 2026
This chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the sixth-generation (6G) transceivers and radio design, emphasizing a value-based and holistic approach that balances performance with sustainability, adaptability, and scalability. At the core of the radio system, the transceiver must support diverse use cases, ranging from high-capacity wireless access to energy-constrained Internet of Things (IoT), while integrating multiple enabling technologies and architectural innovations. Key areas explored include spectrum expansion into the frequency range 3 (FR3) and sub-terahertz (sub-THz) bands, the development of advanced front-end (FE) technologies such as photonic transceivers, resonant tunnelling diodes (RTDs), and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), as well as refined channel and hardware (HW) modelling techniques essential for reliable system evaluation. The chapter also discusses emerging multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) architectures, including massive MIMO, extremely large-scale MIMO (XL-MIMO), and distributed MIMO (D-MIMO), alongside innovations like low-resolution converter designs and over-the-air (OTA) electromagnetic (EM) signal processing. Device-centric design is addressed through secure, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled system-on-chip (SoC) platforms, energy harvesting (EH) technologies, and lightweight communication protocols tailored for scalable and sustainable deployment. The chapter concludes by highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary integration, spanning HW, software, signal processing, AI, and energy management, in achieving the ambitious goals of future 6G radio systems.
6G radio design
sub-THz
FR3
MIMO systems
over-the-air signal processing
energy-efficient IoT devices
reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)
transceiver architectures
Author
Ahmad Nimr
Technische Universität Dresden
Luis González
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Tommy Svensson
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks
Italo Atzeni
University of Oulu
Jeroen Famaey
IMEC
Nurul Huda Mahmood
University of Oulu
Enrico Maria Vitucci
University of Bologna
Gilberto Berardinelli
Aalborg University
Claude Desset
IMEC
Nuutti Tervo
University of Oulu
George Roberto Hotopan
Nokia
Philippe Ratajczak
Orange
Davide Dardari
University of Bologna
Sotiris Droulias
University of Piraeus
Angeliki Alexiou
University of Piraeus
Bikshapathi Gouda
University of Oulu
Venkatesh Tentu
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks
Charitha Madapatha Madapathage Don
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks
Akshay Vayal Parambath
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks
Hao Guo
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Communication, Antennas and Optical Networks
Sebastian Haas
Barkhausen Institut
Emil Matus
Technische Universität Dresden
Onel L.A. López
University of Oulu
Bikramjit Singh
Ericsson Research Jorvas
Nafiseh Mazloum
Sony Corporation
Samer Nasser
IMEC
Ritesh Kumar Singh
IMEC
Priyesh Pappinisseri Puluckul
IMEC
Riku Jäntti
Aalto University
D.T. Phan-Huy
Orange
Efstathios Katranaras
Sequans Communications
Usman Virk
Keysight Technologies
Pekka Kyosti
University of Oulu
Keysight Technologies
Katsuyuki Haneda
Aalto University
Yigit Ertugrul
IMEC
Meng Li
IMEC
Bilal Khan
University of Oulu
Christos Tsokos
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Osmel Martínez Rosabal
University of Oulu
Amirhossein Azarbahram
University of Oulu
Ling Jie
Ericsson Research Jorvas
Peize Zhang
University of Oulu
Jingyi Liao
Aalto University
Kalle Koskinen
Aalto University
Xie Boxuan
Aalto University
Simon Nellen
Fraunhofer Society
Tianwen Qian
Fraunhofer Society
Ahmad Mohammad
LioniX International BV
Chris Roeloffzen
LioniX International BV
Muhsin Ali
LeapWave Technologies
Juha Matti Runtti
Keysight Technologies
Fengchun Zhang
Aalborg University
6G to Build a Sustainable Future
101-166
9781394363575 (ISBN)
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Communication Systems
Telecommunications
Signal Processing
DOI
10.1002/9781394363605.ch4