Press Release: ALCAN successfully completes world’s first liquid crystal based phased array antenna field test for satellite communication

ALCAN Systems, a smart-antenna start-up from Darmstadt, Germany announces today the successful test of a Ku Band liquid crystal (LC) phased array antenna. This is a world first and represents an important achievement in ALCAN’s drive to develop a phased array antenna for consumer use.

The test antenna used liquid crystal panels manufactured on actual display lines. The existing LCD lines enable ALCAN antenna to be manufactured at comparable price levels to LCD TVs. The antenna was able to switch between multiple satellites from a stationary position and achieved the equivalence of 30 Mbps download speeds. It was able to receive the full Ku band transmission spectrum of 10.7 – 12.7 Ghz, demonstrating the high bandwidth capability of the antenna.

CEO Onur Karabey said “This represents a critical step forward in demonstrating the viability of the LC phased array technology that can be produced on a LCD production line. We are pleased with the result and are on target for developing the world’s first LC Ka Band receive and transmit phased array antenna by 2020.“

 

About ALCAN Systems

ALCAN Systems is a German-based smart antenna technology start-up which has developed the revolutionary new liquid crystal (LC) enabled phased array technology. The technology is based on the work of ALCAN co-Founder and CEO Dr. Onur Karabey who proved the viability of LC based phased array antennas in 2011. The company also received seed funding of EUR 850,000 in 2014 from the EXIST Transfer of Research Program of German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to commercialise the research and accelerate the development of a working prototype.   ALCAN raised a further EUR 7.5 million Series A funding in 2017 from a consortium of leading global companies and is now focused on bringing its first product to market in 2020.

For more information, please contact Esat Sibay, CFO at ALCAN Systems, E-mail: pr***@al**********.com     www.alcansystems.com