Experimental analysis of concentrated versus distributed massive MIMO in an indoor cell at 3.5 GHz

This paper presents a measurement-based comparison between distributed and concentrated massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, which are called D-mMIMO and C-mMIMO systems, in an indoor environment considering a 400 MHz bandwidth centered at 3.5 GHz. In both cases, we have considered an array of 64 antennas in the base station and eight simultaneously active users. The work focuses on the characterization of both schemes in the up-link, considering the analysis of the sum capacity, the total spectral efficiency (SE) achievable by using the zero forcing (ZF) combining method, as well as the user fairness. The effect of the power imbalance between the different transmitters or user terminal (UT) locations, and thus, the benefits of performing an adequate power control are also investigated. The differences between the C-mMIMO and D-mMIMO channel performances are explained through the observation of the structure of their respective measured channel matrices through parameters such as the condition number or the power imbalance between the channels established by each UT. The channel measurements have been performed in the frequency domain, emulating a massive MIMO system in the framework of a time-domain duplex orthogonal frequency multiple access network (TDD-OFDM-MIMO). The characterization of the MIMO channel is based on the virtual array technique for both C-mMIMO and D-mMIMO systems. The deployment of the C-mMIMO and D-MIMO systems, as well as the distribution of users in the measurement environment, has been arranged as realistically as possible, avoiding the movement of people or machines.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (TEC2017-86779-C2-1-R)

Empirical Rates Characterization of Wearable Multi-Antenna Terminals for First-Responders

Empirical characterization of the achievable rates for a wearable multi-antenna terminal shows the potential advantages of deploying a large number of antennas at the user end. We focus on the challenges and requirements of the broadband communication in future emergency communication systems, specifically addressing the outdoor-to-indoor propagation scenario, where the first responder is within an underground area such as a garage or basement. The measurement campaign undertaken characterizes the flat fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel matrices at 3.5 GHz for a maximum of M = 30 antennas deployed at the base station (BS), and N = 12 wearable antennas at the user. The achievable rates are obtained for two transmission strategies that account for the different levels of channel knowledge. In both cases, all the MIMO processing is carried out at the BS.This work was supported in part by the Spanish Government under Project MIMOTEX (TEC2014-61776-EXP), Project CIES (RTC-2015-4213-7), and Project TERESA-ADA (TEC2017-90093-C3-2-R) (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE), and in part by the Chilean Government through projects CONICYT under Grant Proyecto Basal FB0821, Grant Fondecyt Iniciación 11171159, and Grant VRIEA-PUCV 039.462/2017.Publicad

Empirical characterization of the indoor radio channel for array antenna systems in the 3 to 4 GHz frequency band

Concerning the design and planning of new radio interfaces for the fifth-generation (5G) systems, this paper presents a useful contribution to the characterization of the wideband indoor radio channel in the 3-4-GHz frequency band. A measurement campaign has been carried out in two different indoor scenarios to analyze some of the most important wideband parameters of the propagation channel, including a thorough analysis of its behavior to meet the new radio technology challenges. The channel measurement setup consists of a virtual vertical uniform array at the receiver side of the link that remains at a fixed position, whereas the transmitter side, which is equipped with a single antenna, is placed at different positions in the environment under analysis. The measurement setup emulates the up-link of a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and allows obtaining the broadband parameters of the multiple channels that are established between the transmitter and each one of the antennas of the receiver array. The results and conclusions about the path loss, temporal dispersion, and coherence bandwidth are included, along with an analysis of the spatial correlation between wideband channels when one of the antennas is an array.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad under Project TEC2017-86779-C2-1-R and Project TEC2017-86779-C2-2-R

Characterization and Enhancement of Antenna System Performance in Compact MIMO Terminals

Co-band multiple-antenna implementation in compact user terminals is necessary for harvesting the full potential of diversity and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology in cellular communication systems. The recent worldwide deployment of Long Term Evolution (LTE), which requires the use of MIMO technology in the downlink, adds to the urgency of achieving both practical and optimal multiple-antenna systems in user terminals. Contrary to conventional understanding, an optimal multiple-antenna implementation does not only involve the design and placement of antenna elements in the terminals, but extends beyond the antenna elements and common antenna parameters to comprise interactions with the near field user and the propagation environment. Moreover, these interactions are non-static, which implies that the multiple-antenna system must adapt to the prevailing overall communication channel in order to assure the highest performance gains. This doctoral thesis aims to address several key issues in optimal multiple-antenna system design for compact multi-band MIMO terminals, with the first half (Papers I to III) focusing on the performance characterization of such terminals in the presence of user interaction and propagation channel, under the challenging constraint that the terminals are compact. The second half of the thesis (Papers IV to VI) considers two performance enhancement approaches suitable for compact MIMO terminals in realistic usage conditions. In particular, the potential benefits of harmonizing compact multiple-antenna systems with the propagation channel and user influence are determined with respect to reconfigurability in antenna patterns and impedance matching circuits. In Paper I, the diversity performance of internal multiple antennas with multi-band coverage in a mock-up with the size of a typical mobile handset is investigated in different user interaction scenarios. For comparison, a second mock-up with only one multi-band antenna is also evaluated in the same user cases. An ideal uniform propagation environment is assumed. The performance at frequency bands below and above 1 GHz are presented and analyzed in detail. Paper II extends the study in Paper I by evaluating the single-input multiple-output (SIMO) and MIMO capacity performance of the same antenna prototypes under the same user interaction scenarios and propagation environment. In Paper III, the impacts of gain imbalance and antenna separation on the throughput performance of a dual-dipole configuration are studied at frequencies below and above 1 GHz in a repeatable dynamic multi-path environment, using a live HSPA network. Since the compactness of a user terminal has implications on the antenna separation and gain imbalance of the multiple antennas, the focus is to gain knowledge on how these two factors affect the end user experience in practice. In Paper IV, three simple dual-antenna topologies implemented in compact smart phone prototypes of identical form factors are evaluated in MIMO channel measurements in noise-limited and interference-limited urban scenarios. Each dual-antenna topology is intentionally designed to provide a distinct set of antenna patterns. The goal is to investigate the potential of antenna system design as one of the key performance differentiators in real terminal implementations. Paper V extends the work in Paper IV by introducing user interaction to the same MIMO channel measurement setup. Furthermore, the focus of this paper is on the evaluation of both the average and local channel performances and their potential enhancements. Finally, Paper VI ascertains the potential capacity gains of applying uncoupled adaptive matching to a compact dual-antenna terminal in an indoor office environment, under a realistic user scenario. The performance gains are evaluated by means of extensive MIMO channel measurements at frequency bands below and above 1 GHz