Asymmetric shaped-pattern synthesis for planar antenna arrays

A procedure to synthesize asymmetrically shaped beam patterns is developed for planar antenna arrays. As it is based on the quasi-analytical method of collapsed distributions, the main advantage of this procedure is the ability to realize a shaped (null-free) region with very low ripple. Smooth and asymmetrically shaped regions can be used for Direction-of-Arrival estimation and subsequently for efficient tracking with a single output (fully analog) beamformer

Shaped pattern synthesis for equispaced linear arrays with non-isotropic antennas

This paper explains how the measured directivity of antenna elements can be taken into account during shaped pattern synthesis. The method that is presented is based on the Orchard Elliott synthesis procedure. Important features of this classical way of synthesizing shaped antenna patterns are its high degree of control over the pattern's shape, and the flexible way in which the array excitations can be chosen. However, because it operates on the array factor, the directivity (i.e., element factor) of the antenna elements is neglected. Once synthesis is complete, and the element factor is reintroduced to evaluate the actual beam pattern, one often finds that the overall shape is not as it was specified. In particular when the shaped region of the pattern is placed further away from broadside, the differences become substantial. In those cases it may be necessary to take the element factor into account during synthesis

mCRAN: A radio access network architecture for 5G indoor ccommunications

Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication is being seen as a disruptive technology for 5G era. In particular, 60GHz frequency band has emerged as a promising candidate for multi-Gbps connectivity in indoor and hotspot areas. In terms of network architecture, cloud radio access network (CRAN) has emerged as the most promising architectural alternative to enable efficient baseband processing and dynamic resource allocation in 5G communications. In this article, we propose micro-CRAN (mCRAN) -a multi-gigabit indoor network architecture which leverages availability of high bandwidth in 60GHz frequency band. We have discussed in detail about the requirements and research challenges for various system modules for mCRAN based network architecture. We have also investigated the feasibility of IEEE 802.11ad MAC protocol for the proposed mCRAN architecture. We discuss the challenges related to 60GHz beamforming, medium access mechanisms and network architecture, and propose solutions to address them