Professors Im Dong‑gu, Son Hae‑won, and Kim Jeong‑mu (College of Engineering, Division of Electronic Engineering) and Professor Nam Il‑gu of Pusan National University (Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering) were selected for the follow‑up project of the Basic Research Laboratory (BRL) program, a group research support program of the National Research Foundation of Korea.

The Basic Research Laboratory Support Program aims to nurture research groups that form the foundation for activating convergence and interdisciplinary research, transfer research know‑how such as the discovery of creative topics and research methods to early‑career researchers, and thereby contribute to training the next generation of researchers.

Accordingly, the research team will receive KRW 1.5 billion in funding over three years through 2027 and will further advance the “Development of a multifunctional 5G millimeter‑wave phased‑array antenna/circuit with built‑in user hand‑grip detection and signal shielding compensation functions,” which they carried out for 33 months through this February.

Through the previous project, the team succeeded in developing and demonstrating foundational technology capable of resolving the primary cause of millimeter‑wave 5G wireless communication failures (prototype model: JB‑SKI‑2024). They also secured domestic and international patent registrations and published 15 SCIE papers.

Also, the master’s and doctoral students who participated in the project used this technology to obtain positions at leading national research institutes, major corporations, and mid‑sized companies in the relevant fields, contributing to the cultivation of outstanding talent and enhancing Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)’s standing.

In the follow‑up research resulting from this selection, the team plans to actively utilize the phased‑array SENTENNA system developed in the prior study to research and develop an area‑scalable Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) device that adaptively varies reflection amplification in response to a user’s hand grip, and a 5G/6G millimeter‑wave 2×2 MIMO transceiver system that employs it. Domestic patent applications are also being prepared.

To carry out the follow‑up project, the research team signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for collaborative research with the non‑profit telecommunications research institute CTTC in Spain, which is conducting multiple national research projects under the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Through regular technical exchange seminars and workshops with this institute, they plan to review the appropriateness of R&D directions and resolve technical challenges.

They will also continue international collaborative research through detailed RIS simulation studies with Professor Hoa’s team at Vinh University in Vietnam, who participated as researchers in the previous BRL project.

The Principal Investigator (PI), Professor Im Dong‑gu, and co‑investigator Professor Nam Il‑gu are RFIC specialists who have been conducting research on CMOS RF transceivers. In this follow‑up study, they will develop CMOS low‑power passive resistive circuits and a multi‑beamforming phased‑array SENTENNA system. Co‑investigators Professors Son Hae‑won and Kim Jeong‑mu have conducted years of research on optimal structures and processes to improve millimeter‑wave band antenna performance, and in this project they will design area‑scalable RIS unit cells and modules. 

Professor Im Dong‑gu stated, “The 6G‑oriented user hand‑grip‑interfaced RIS device to be developed through this research and the 2×2 MIMO transceiver system that uses it will not be limited to development; their effectiveness will be demonstrated through measurement results, and we are pursuing commercialization via technology transfer to related domestic and international major corporations. Since RFIC, antenna, and MEMS sensor fields have converged within the Division of Electronic Engineering at JBNU to initiate the BRL project and now a follow‑up project has been selected, this will allow us to contribute not only to the university but also to group research projects related to Jeonbuk Special Self‑Governing Province.”