6G Transceiver and Radio Design

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.