In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg, glass refiner arcon has developed an innovative coating that enables good mobile phone reception inside buildings: arconnect.
In the refinement process, the heat-insulating glass is given a fine, almost invisible structure. This structure makes the glass permeable to all current mobile phone frequencies, including the new 5G standard. "Even at the higher frequencies of the 5G standard, the coating enables optimal data reception, which allows real-time applications," says Hermann Dehner, Product Manager at arcon. "We supply arconnect as laminated safety glass (LSG) as well as float glass."
This feature was particularly important to the developers. Because the fifth mobile phone generation will not only enable faster and more reliable mobile internet. The high transmission rates are, for example, the basic prerequisite for the automation of production processes in industry and business, new smart-home applications or entertainment based on virtual reality.
By how much does arconnect improve mobile phone reception?
Tests have shown that with arconnect the transmission value of a double insulating glass increases by a factor of 1000 compared to a conventional heat-insulating glazing. If modern triple glazing is used, the transmission actually improves by a factor of 10,000.
In the finishing process, the arconnect heat-insulating glass is given a fine structure. This structure makes the glass permeable to all current mobile phone frequencies, including 5G.
Does arconnect affect heat insulation?
Incidentally, the heat-insulating properties of the insulating glass remain almost completely intact even with arconnect. "All low-energy requirements for thermal insulation can be met without any problems. The Ug value changes only minimally," Dehner emphasises. The strength is also not reduced by the structure. The coating is durable and maintenance-free. In addition, existing window constructions can also be retrofitted without any problems.
See also: Hegla: Laser-treated glass suitable for wireless communication
arcon
Another major advantage of arconnect: the technology helps to reduce electromagnetic radiation inside the building. Because since a mobile device always tries to maintain reception, it increases its output power when the connection quality is poor - for example, behind conventional thermal insulation glazing. This leads to the owner being exposed to stronger electromagnetic radiation.
What other benefits can arconnect have for mobile phone reception?
Since arconnect ensures high transmission values, smartphones and tablets, on the other hand, have to ramp up their output to a much lesser extent in order to receive data. The reduction of the output power also conserves the battery, which benefits a longer runtime of the mobile device.
As arcon supplies arconnect as both LSG and float glass, processing companies receive the basic glass, which they can then easily customise to meet customer requirements.
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