Channel Simulators for MmWave and 5G Applications

Along with the tremendous growth of extremely high traffic demand, 5G radio access technology, is becoming the core component to support massive and multifarious connected devices and real-time, and to offer high reliability wireless communications with high data rate. And millimeter-wave (mmWave) range with a huge frequency spectrum from 3 GHz to 300GHz will perfectly meet the multi-gigabit communicative demand. However, mmWave usage also generally brings new challenges, such as coping with high attenuation or path losses. As an effective method to evaluate the performance of the new concept in communication networks, nowadays, several channel models and simulators have been proposed and developped, such as, WINNER, COST-2100, IMT-Advanced, METIS, NYU Wire-less and QuaDRiGa etc. The thesis goals have been to offer an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of various mmWave channel models existing in the literature, based on the published literature, and to compare based on simulations some of the main features of two selected open-source models, namely the WINNER 2 and QuaDRiGa channel models. In the future, more mmWave channel models are planned to be tested and simulated for a better understanding of their suitability for various mmWave applications

Statistical millimeter wave channel modelling for 5G and beyond

Millimetre wave (mmWave) wireless communication is one of the most promising technologies for the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication networks and beyond. The very broad bandwidth and directional propagation are the two features of mmWave channels. In order to develop the channel models properly reflecting the characteristics of mmWave channels, the in-depth studies of mmWave channels addressing those two features are required. In this thesis, three mmWave channel models and one beam alignment scheme are proposed related to those two features. First, for studying the very broad bandwidth feature of mmWave channels, we introduce an averaged power delay profile (APDP) method to estimate the frequency stationarity regions (FSRs) of channels. The frequency non-stationary (FnS) properties of channels are found in the data analysis. A FnS model is proposed to model the FnS channels in both the sub-6 GHz and mmWave frequency bands and cluster evolution in the frequency domain is utilised in the implementation of FnS model. Second, for studying the directional propagation feature of mmWave channels, we develop an angular APDP (A-APDP) method to study the planar angular stationarity regions (ASRs) of directional channels (DCs). Three typical directional channel impulse responses (D-CIRs) are found in the data analysis and light-of-sight (LOS), non-LOS (NLOS), and outage classes are used to classify those DCs. A modified Saleh-Valenzuela (SV) model is proposed to model the DCs. The angular domain cluster evolution is utilised to ensure the consistency of DCs. Third, we further extend the A-APDP method to study the spherical-ASRs of DCs. We model the directional mmWave channels by three-state Markov chain that consists of LOS, NLOS, and outage states and we use stationary model, non-stationary model, and “null” to describe the channels in each Markov state according to the estimated ASRs. Then, we propose to use joint channel models to simulate the instantaneous directional mmWave channels based on the limiting distribution of Markov chain. Finally, the directional propagated mmWave channels when the Tx and Rx in motion is addressed. A double Gaussian beams (DGBs) scheme for mobile-to-mobile (M2M) mmWave communications is proposed. The connection ratios of directional mmWave channels in each Markov state are studied

Empirical multi-band characterization of propagation with modelling aspects for communictions

Diese Arbeit präsentiert eine empirische Untersuchung der Wellenausbreitung für drahtlose Kommunikation im Millimeterwellen- und sub-THz-Band, wobei als Referenz das bereits bekannte und untersuchte sub-6-GHz-Band verwendet wird. Die großen verfügbaren Bandbreiten in diesen hohen Frequenzbändern erlauben die Verwendung hoher instantaner Bandbreiten zur Erfüllung der wesentlichen Anforderungen zukünftiger Mobilfunktechnologien (5G, “5G and beyond” und 6G). Aufgrund zunehmender Pfad- und Eindringverluste bei zunehmender Trägerfrequenz ist die resultierende Abdeckung dabei jedoch stark reduziert. Die entstehenden Pfadverluste können durch die Verwendung hochdirektiver Funkschnittstellen kompensiert werden, wodurch die resultierende Auflösung im Winkelbereich erhöht wird und die Notwendigkeit einer räumlichen Kenntnis der Systeme mit sich bringt: Woher kommt das Signal? Darüber hinaus erhöhen größere Anwendungsbandbreiten die Auflösung im Zeitbereich, reduzieren das small-scale Fading und ermöglichen die Untersuchung innerhalb von Clustern von Mehrwegekomponenten. Daraus ergibt sich für Kommunikationssysteme ein vorhersagbareres Bild im Winkel-, Zeit- und Polarisationsbereich, welches Eigenschaften sind, die in Kanalmodellen für diese Frequenzen widergespiegelt werden müssen. Aus diesem Grund wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit eine umfassende Charakterisierung der Wellenausbreitung durch simultane Multibandmessungen in den sub-6 GHz-, Millimeterwellen- und sub-THz-Bändern vorgestellt. Zu Beginn wurde die Eignung des simultanen Multiband-Messverfahrens zur Charakterisierung der Ausbreitung von Grenzwert-Leistungsprofilen und large-scale Parametern bewertet. Anschließend wurden wichtige Wellenausbreitungsaspekte für die Ein- und Multibandkanalmodellierung innerhalb mehrerer Säulen der 5G-Technologie identifiziert und Erweiterungen zu verbreiteten räumlichen Kanalmodellen eingeführt und bewertet, welche die oben genannten Systemaspekte abdecken.This thesis presents an empirical characterization of propagation for wireless communications at mm-waves and sub-THz, taking as a reference the already well known and studied sub-6 GHz band. The large blocks of free spectrum available at these high frequency bands makes them particularly suitable to provide the necessary instantaneous bandwidths to meet the requirements of future wireless technologies (5G, 5G and beyond, and 6G). However, isotropic path-loss and penetration-loss are larger with increasing carrier frequency, hence, coverage is severely reduced. Path-loss can be compensated with the utilization of highly directive radio-interfaces, which increases the resolution in the angular domain. Nonetheless, this emphasizes the need of spatial awareness of systems, making more relevant the question “where does the signal come from?” In addition, larger application bandwidths increase the resolution in the time domain, reducing small-scale fading and allowing to observe inside of clusters of multi-path components (MPCs). Consequently, communication systems have a more deterministic picture of the environment in the angular, time, and polarization domain, characteristics that need to be reflected in channel models for these frequencies. Therefore, in the present work we introduce an extensive characterization of propagation by intensive simultaneous multi-band measurements in the sub-6 GHz, mm-waves, and sub-THz bands. Firstly, the suitability of the simultaneous multi-band measurement procedure to characterize propagation from marginal power profiles and large-scale parameters (LSPs) has been evaluated. Then, key propagation aspects for single and multi-band channel modelling in several verticals of 5G have been identified, and extensions to popular spatial channel models (SCMs) covering the aforementioned system aspects have been introduced and evaluated

Millimeter wave radio channels: properties, multipath modeling and simulations

Based on the characterization of realistic radio channels, results presented in this dissertation lead towards an understanding that when moving up to the higher frequencies, frequency itself does not play a significant role in defining the channel modeling methodology. In fact, how a propagation channel is illuminated is of fundamental importance. Therefore, millimeter wave (mmWave) system properties such as a high antenna directivity and system bandwidth are shown to have a great influence on the channel model definition. In this thesis, a fundamental assumption made in the state-of-the-art millimeter wave wireless channel models is challenged. It has been shown that Rayleigh-Rice fading assumption made in the state-of-the-art channel models for resolvable channel taps does not remain valid. This is mainly due to the sparse multipath illumination caused by high antenna directivity and high bandwidth of a mmWave system.Studies presented in this thesis are based on the characterization of realistic radio channels obtained from exhaustive channel sounding campaigns. Mainly, three fundamental problems of wireless channel modelling have been investigated for millimetre wave (mmWave) radio channel modelling application, namely (i) Frequency dependence of propagation, (ii) Impact of antenna directivity on the channel model definition, and (iii) Impact of system bandwidth on the radio channel modelling. A detailed description of these problems is as follows: (i) Frequency Dependence of Propagation. Multi-band measurement campaigns arecarried out using directional antennas which do an omni-directional scan of the propagation environment. During the measurements, Tx-Rx systems are placed at fixed positions and the propagation environment remained as static as possible. Using synthesized omni-directional power delay profiles (PDPs), we aim to investigate if there exists a frequency dependency in the multipath dispersion statistics, e.g. delay and angular spreads. (ii) Impact of Antenna Directivity on the Channel Model Definition. Small-scale fading measurements are carried out which emulate a scenario, where a radio communication link is established through a single multipath cluster which is illuminated using antennas with different Half Power Beam Widths (HPBW). The major goal here is to investigate the impact of spatial multipath filtering on the small-scale fading due to high antenna directivity. In particular, the impact on variations in the receive signal strength and the validity of narrowband wide-sense stationary assumption (both in time and frequency domains) is investigated. (iii) Impact of System Bandwidth on the Radio Channel Modelling. Small-scale fading measurements are used to illuminate multipath clusters in a lecture room scenario. The primary objective is to investigate the impact of high system bandwidth on variations in the receive signal strength, randomness in the cross-polarization power ratio (XPR) and richness of the multipath scattering. Based on the characterization of realistic radio channels, results presented in this dissertation lead towards an understanding that when moving up to the higher frequencies, frequency itself does not play a significant role in defining the channel modelling methodology. In fact, how a propagation channel is illuminated is of fundamental importance. Therefore, mmWave system properties such as a high antenna directivity and system bandwidth are shown to have a high influence on the channel model definition. In general, fade depth scaling as a function of system bandwidth is quite well understood. We demonstrate that, the high antenna directivity of mmWave systems result in a further reduction in the fading depth. In addition, we explore some new directions to this line of research which are based on the second-order statistical analysis of the channel impulse response (CIR) vector. Our results emphasize that, fading statistics of resolvable channel taps in a mmWave radio channel cannot be modelled as Rayleigh-Rice distributed random variables. This is primarily due to the fact that channels with sparse scattering conditions are illuminated due to high antenna directivity and bandwidth of mmWave systems. Consequently, the complex Gaussian random variable assumption associated with Rayleigh-Rice fading distributions does not remain valid. Further, it has been demonstrated that, high antenna directivity and bandwidth of mmWave systems also raise a question mark on the validity of wide-sense stationary (WSS) assumption in the slow-time domain of mmWave radio channels. Results presented in this contribution are novel and they provide theoretically consistent insights into the measured radio channel.In dieser Arbeit werden drei grundlegende Probleme der Modellierung von Drahtloskanalen fur die Anwendung bei der Funkkanalmodellierung im Millimeterwellenbereich (mmWave) untersucht, namlich (i) die Frequenzabhangigkeit der Ausbreitung, (ii) der Einfluss der Antennenrichtwirkung auf die Definition des Kanalmodells und (iii) der Einfluss der Systembandbreite auf die Funkkanalmodellierung. Die detaillierte Beschreibung dieser Probleme lautet wie folgt: (i) Frequenzabhangigkeit der Ausbreitung. Mehrband-Messkampagnen werden mitRichtantennen durchgefuhrt, die eine omnidirektionale Abtastung der Ausbreitungsumgebung vornehmen. Wahrend der Messungen werden die Tx-Rx-Systeme an festen Positionen platziert und die Ausbreitungsumgebung bleibt so statisch wie moglich. Mit Hilfe von synthetisierten omnidirektionalen Verzogerungs-Leistungsprofilen soll untersucht werden, ob es eine Frequenzabhangigkeit in der Mehrwegeausbreitungsstatistik gibt, z.B. in der Verzogerung und der Winkelspreizung. (ii) Einfluss der Antennenrichtwirkung auf die Definition des Kanalmodells. Es werden Messungen des schnellen Schwunds durchgefuhrt, die ein Szenario emulieren, bei dem eine Funkverbindung uber ein einzelnes Mehrwege-Cluster aufgebaut wird, das mit Antennen mit unterschiedlichen Strahlbreiten ausgeleuchtet wird. Das Hauptzielist hier die Untersuchung des Einflusses der raumlichen Filterung auf den schnellen Schwund aufgrund der hohen Antennenrichtwirkung. Insbesondere wird die Auswirkung auf Variationen der Empfangssignalstarke und die Gultigkeit der Annahme der schmalbandigen Stationaritat im weiteren Sinne (sowohl im Zeit- als auch im Frequenzbereich) untersucht. (iii) Einfluss der Systembandbreite auf die Funkkanalmodellierung. Messungen desschnellen Schwunds werden verwendet, um Mehrwege-Cluster in einem Horsaal-Szenario auszuleuchten. Das primare Ziel ist es, den Einfluss einer hohen Systembandbreite auf die Variationen der Empfangssignalstarke, die Zufalligkeit des Kreuzpolarisationsverhaltnisses und die Reichhaltigkeit der Mehrwegstreuung zu untersuchen. Basierend auf der Charakterisierung realistischer Funkkanäle führen die in dieser Dissertation vorgestellten Ergebnisse zu dem Verständnis, dass beim Ubergang zu höheren Frequenzen die Frequenz x selbst keine signifikante Rolle bei der Definition der Kanalmodellierungsmethodik spielt. Vielmehr ist es von grundlegender Bedeutung, wie ein Ausbreitungskanal ausgeleuchtet wird. Daher zeigt sich, dass mmWave-Systemeigenschaften wie eine hohe Antennenrichtcharakteristik und Systembandbreite einen hohen Einfluss auf die Definition des Kanalmodells haben. Im Allgemeinen ist die Skalierung der Schwundtiefe als Funktion der Systembandbreite ziemlich gut verstanden. Wir zeigen, dass die hohe Antennenrichtwirkung von mmWave-Systemen zu einer weiteren Reduzierung der Schwundtiefe führt. Zusätzlich erforschen wir einige neue Richtungen in diesem Forschungsbereich, die auf der Analyse der Statistik zweiter Ordnung des Kanalimpulsantwort-Vektors basieren. Unsere Ergebnisse unterstreichen, dass die Schwund-Statistiken der auflösbaren Kanalabgriffe in einem mmWave-Funkkanal nicht als Rayleigh-Rice-verteilte Zufallsvariablen modelliert werden können. Dies liegt vor allem daran, dass durch die hohe Antennenrichtwirkung und Bandbreite von mmWave-Systemen Kanale mit spärlichen Streubedingungen ausgeleuchtet werden. Folglich ist die Annahme komplexer Gaus’scher Zufallsvariablen, die mit Rayleigh-Rice Schwundverteilungen verbunden ist, nicht mehr gültig. Des Weiteren wird gezeigt, dass die hohe Antennenrichtwirkung und Bandbreite von mmWave-Systemen auch die Gültigkeit der Annahme von Stationarität im weiteren Sinne im Slow-Time-Bereich von mmWave-Funkkanälen in Frage stellt. Die in diesem Beitrag vorgestellten Ergebnisse sind neuartig und bieten theoretisch konsistente Einblicke in den gemessenen Funkkanal

Massive MIMO channel modelling for 5G wireless communication systems

Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) wireless communication systems, equipped with tens or even hundreds of antennas, emerge as a promising technology for the Fifth Generation (5G) wireless communication networks. To design and evaluate the performance of massive MIMO wireless communication systems, it is essential to develop accurate, flexible, and efficient channel models which fully reflect the characteristics of massive MIMO channels. In this thesis, four massive MIMO channel models have been proposed. First, a novel non-stationary wideband multi-confocal ellipse Two-Dimensional (2-D) Geometry Based Stochastic Model (GBSM) for massive MIMO channels is proposed. Spherical wavefront is assumed in the proposed channel model, instead of the plane wavefront assumption used in conventional MIMO channel models. In addition, the Birth-Death (BD) process is incorporated into the proposed model to capture the dynamic properties of clusters on both the array and time axes. Second, we propose a novel theoretical non-stationary Three-Dimensional (3-D) wideband twin-cluster channel model for massive MIMO communication systems with carrier frequencies in the order of gigahertz (GHz). As the dimension of antenna arrays cannot be ignored for massive MIMO, nearfield effects instead of farfield effects are considered in the proposed model. These include the spherical wavefront assumption and a BD process to model non-stationary properties of clusters such as cluster appearance and disappearance on both the array and time axes. Third, a novel Kronecker Based Stochastic Model (KBSM) for massive MIMO channels is proposed. The proposed KBSM can not only capture antenna correlations but also the evolution of scatterer sets on the array axis. In addition, upper and lower bounds of KBSM channel capacities in both the high and low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) regimes are derived when the numbers of transmit and receive antennas are increasing unboundedly with a constant ratio. Finally, a novel unified framework of GBSMs for 5G wireless channels is proposed. The proposed 5G channel model framework aims at capturing key channel characteristics of certain 5G communication scenarios, such as massive MIMO systems, High Speed Train (HST) communications, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, and Milli-meter Wave (mmWave) communications

State-of-the-art assessment of 5G mmWave communications

Deliverable D2.1 del proyecto 5GWirelessMain objective of the European 5Gwireless project, which is part of the H2020 Marie Slodowska- Curie ITN (Innovative Training Networks) program resides in the training and involvement of young researchers in the elaboration of future mobile communication networks, focusing on innovative wireless technologies, heterogeneous network architectures, new topologies (including ultra-dense deployments), and appropriate tools. The present Document D2.1 is the first deliverable of Work- Package 2 (WP2) that is specifically devoted to the modeling of the millimeter-wave (mmWave) propagation channels, and development of appropriate mmWave beamforming and signal processing techniques. Deliver D2.1 gives a state-of-the-art on the mmWave channel measurement, characterization and modeling; existing antenna array technologies, channel estimation and precoding algorithms; proposed deployment and networking techniques; some performance studies; as well as a review on the evaluation and analysis toolsPostprint (published version

Performance Analysis of Multi-User MIMO Schemes under Realistic 3GPP 3-D Channel Model for 5G mmWave Cellular Networks

Novel techniques such as mmWave transmission and massive MIMO have proven to present many attractive features able to support high data demand for 5G NR technologies. Towards the standardization of 5G networks, channel modeling has become an important step in order to test the reliability of theoretical studies. In this paper, we study the performance of a 5G network at mmWave range for the downlink. We consider a single trisectorized base station equipped with planar arrays, and we model users as a spatial Poisson process in a hexagonal grid. We adopt the latest 3GPP channel model described in TR 38.901 and we provide a thorough description and step-by-step tutorial of it along with our customizations and MATLAB scripts for channel generation in the presented scenario. Moreover, we evaluate the performance of Multi-User Multi-Layer MIMO techniques, such as Signal-to-Leakage-plus-Noise Ratio (SLNR) precoding and MMSE combined with different system configurations by means of achievable per-user rate