6,562 research outputs found
Millimeter Wave Cellular Networks: A MAC Layer Perspective
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band is seen as a key enabler of
multi-gigabit wireless access in future cellular networks. In order to overcome
the propagation challenges, mmWave systems use a large number of antenna
elements both at the base station and at the user equipment, which lead to high
directivity gains, fully-directional communications, and possible noise-limited
operations. The fundamental differences between mmWave networks and traditional
ones challenge the classical design constraints, objectives, and available
degrees of freedom. This paper addresses the implications that highly
directional communication has on the design of an efficient medium access
control (MAC) layer. The paper discusses key MAC layer issues, such as
synchronization, random access, handover, channelization, interference
management, scheduling, and association. The paper provides an integrated view
on MAC layer issues for cellular networks, identifies new challenges and
tradeoffs, and provides novel insights and solution approaches.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, to appear in IEEE Transactions on
Communication
Massive MIMO is a Reality -- What is Next? Five Promising Research Directions for Antenna Arrays
Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) is no longer a "wild" or
"promising" concept for future cellular networks - in 2018 it became a reality.
Base stations (BSs) with 64 fully digital transceiver chains were commercially
deployed in several countries, the key ingredients of Massive MIMO have made it
into the 5G standard, the signal processing methods required to achieve
unprecedented spectral efficiency have been developed, and the limitation due
to pilot contamination has been resolved. Even the development of fully digital
Massive MIMO arrays for mmWave frequencies - once viewed prohibitively
complicated and costly - is well underway. In a few years, Massive MIMO with
fully digital transceivers will be a mainstream feature at both sub-6 GHz and
mmWave frequencies. In this paper, we explain how the first chapter of the
Massive MIMO research saga has come to an end, while the story has just begun.
The coming wide-scale deployment of BSs with massive antenna arrays opens the
door to a brand new world where spatial processing capabilities are
omnipresent. In addition to mobile broadband services, the antennas can be used
for other communication applications, such as low-power machine-type or
ultra-reliable communications, as well as non-communication applications such
as radar, sensing and positioning. We outline five new Massive MIMO related
research directions: Extremely large aperture arrays, Holographic Massive MIMO,
Six-dimensional positioning, Large-scale MIMO radar, and Intelligent Massive
MIMO.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Digital Signal Processin
Reconfigurable Antennas in mmWave MIMO Systems
The key obstacle to achieving the full potential of the millimeter wave
(mmWave) band has been the poor propagation characteristics of wireless signals
in this band. One approach to overcome this issue is to use antennas that can
support higher gains while providing beam adaptability and diversity, i.e.,
reconfigurable antennas. In this article, we present a new architecture for
mmWave multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications that uses a new
class of reconfigurable antennas. More specifically, the proposed lens-based
antennas can support multiple radiation patterns while using a single radio
frequency chain. Moreover, by using a beam selection network, each antenna beam
can be steered in the desired direction. Further, using the proposed
reconfigurable antenna in a MIMO architecture, we propose a new signal
processing algorithm that uses the additional degrees of freedom provided by
the antennas to overcome propagation issues at mmWave frequencies. Our
simulation results show that the proposed reconfigurable antenna MIMO
architecture significantly enhances the performance of mmWave communication
systems
Frame Structure Design and Analysis for Millimeter Wave Cellular Systems
The millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies have attracted considerable
attention for fifth generation (5G) cellular communication as they offer orders
of magnitude greater bandwidth than current cellular systems. However, the
medium access control (MAC) layer may need to be significantly redesigned to
support the highly directional transmissions, ultra-low latencies and high peak
rates expected in mmWave communication. To address these challenges, we present
a novel mmWave MAC layer frame structure with a number of enhancements
including flexible, highly granular transmission times, dynamic control signal
locations, extended messaging and ability to efficiently multiplex directional
control signals. Analytic formulae are derived for the utilization and control
overhead as a function of control periodicity, number of users, traffic
statistics, signal-to-noise ratio and antenna gains. Importantly, the analysis
can incorporate various front-end MIMO capability assumptions -- a critical
feature of mmWave. Under realistic system and traffic assumptions, the analysis
reveals that the proposed flexible frame structure design offers significant
benefits over designs with fixed frame structures similar to current 4G
long-term evolution (LTE). It is also shown that fully digital beamforming
architectures offer significantly lower overhead compared to analog and hybrid
beamforming under equivalent power budgets.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions for Wireless Communication
Adaptive multibeam antennas for spacelab. Phase A: Feasibility study
The feasibility was studied of using adaptive multibeam multi-frequency antennas on the spacelab, and to define the experiment configuration and program plan needed for a demonstration to prove the concept. Three applications missions were selected, and requirements were defined for an L band communications experiment, an L band radiometer experiment, and a Ku band communications experiment. Reflector, passive lens, and phased array antenna systems were considered, and the Adaptive Multibeam Phased Array (AMPA) was chosen. Array configuration and beamforming network tradeoffs resulted in a single 3m x 3m L band array with 576 elements for high radiometer beam efficiency. Separate 0.4m x 0.4 m arrays are used to transmit and receive at Ku band with either 576 elements or thinned apertures. Each array has two independently steerable 5 deg beams, which are adaptively controlled
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