Mobile Communications Beyond 52.6 GHz: Waveforms, Numerology, and Phase Noise Challenge

In this article, the first considerations for the 5G New Radio (NR) physical layer evolution to support beyond 52.6GHz communications are provided. In addition, the performance of both OFDM based and DFT-s-OFDM based networks are evaluated with special emphasis on the phase noise (PN) induced distortion. It is shown that DFT-s-OFDM is more robust against PN under 5G NR Release 15 assumptions, namely regarding the supported phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) designs, since it enables more effective PN mitigation directly in the time domain. To further improve the PN compensation capabilities, the PTRS design for DFT-s-OFDM is revised, while for the OFDM waveform a novel block PTRS structure is introduced, providing similar link performance as DFT-s-OFDM with enhanced PTRS design. We demonstrate that the existing 5G NR Release 15 solutions can be extended to support efficient mobile communications at 60GHz carrier frequency with the enhanced PTRS structures. In addition, DFT-s-OFDM based downlink for user data could be considered for beyond 52.6GHz communications to further improve system power efficiency and performance with higher order modulation and coding schemes. Finally, network link budget and cell size considerations are provided, showing that at certain bands with specific transmit power regulation, the cell size can eventually be downlink limited.Comment: This manuscript has been submitted to IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine (WCM). 8 pages, 4 figures, and 2 table

Energy-Efficient Coordinated Multi-Cell Multigroup Multicast Beamforming with Antenna Selection

This paper studies energy-efficient coordinated beamforming in multi-cell multi-user multigroup multicast multiple-input single-output systems. We aim at maximizing the network energy efficiency by taking into account the fact that some of the radio frequency chains can be switched off in order to save power. We consider the antenna specific maximum power constraints to avoid non-linear distortion in power amplifiers and user-specific quality of service (QoS) constraints to guarantee a certain QoS levels. We first introduce binary antenna selection variables and use the perspective formulation to model the relation between them and the beamformers. Subsequently, we propose a new formulation which reduces the feasible set of the continuous relaxation, resulting in better performance compared to the original perspective formulation based problem. However, the resulting optimization problem is a mixed-Boolean non-convex fractional program, which is difficult to solve. We follow the standard continuous relaxation of the binary antenna selection variables, and then reformulate the problem such that it is amendable to successive convex approximation. Thereby, solving the continuous relaxation mostly results in near-binary solution. To recover the binary variables from the continuous relaxation, we switch off all the antennas for which the continuous values are smaller than a small threshold. Numerical results illustrate the superior convergence result and significant achievable gains in terms of energy efficiency with the proposed algorithm.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted to IEEE ICC 2017 - International Workshop on 5G RAN Desig

5G New Radio Evolution Towards Sub-THz Communications

In this paper, the potential of extending 5G New Radio physical layer solutions to support communications in sub-THz frequencies is studied. More specifically, we introduce the status of third generation partnership project studies related to operation on frequencies beyond 52.6 GHz and note also the recent proposal on spectrum horizons provided by federal communications commission (FCC) related to experimental licenses on 95 GHz - 3 THz frequency band. Then, we review the power amplifier (PA) efficiency and output power challenge together with the increased phase noise (PN) distortion effect in terms of the supported waveforms. As a practical example on the waveform and numerology design from the perspective of the PN robustness, link performance results using 90 GHz carrier frequency are provided. The numerical results demonstrate that new, higher subcarrier spacings are required to support high throughput, which requires larger changes in the physical layer design. It is also observed that new phase-tracking reference signal designs are required to make the system robust against PN. The results illustrate that single-carrier frequency division multiple access is significantly more robust against PN and can provide clearly larger PA output power than cyclic-prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, and is therefore a highly potential waveform for sub-THz communications.Comment: This manuscript has been accepted for publication to IEEE 6G Wireless Summit 2020, 6 pages, 4 figure

Downlink Sensing in 5G-Advanced and 6G:SIB1-assisted SSB Approach

This paper investigates the potential to leverage existing 5G NR signals for network-side integrated sensing and communications (ISAC). In general, the synchronization signal block (SSB) is a suitable candidate for always-on downlink sensing, due to its frequent periodical availability and because of its beam-sweeping nature. However, as this work demonstrates, using only the SSB has challenges related to radar ambiguity while being also limited in both distance and velocity resolution due to limited bandwidth and per-beam time duration, respectively. A novel solution is then introduced by combining SSB with downlink control information (DCI) and system information block 1 (SIB1) symbols. The corresponding implications and variants how SIB1 is optimized and configured are discussed, covering both 5G evolution and potential 6G solutions. The performance of the proposed approach is also assessed through realistic numerical evaluations at both 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz network deployments, and shown to yield up to 25 dB suppression in radar peak sidelobe level (PSL) compared to SSB-only based range-velocity profile. Also considerable improvements in the sensing resolution in the order of 120-190% are demonstrated.Peer reviewe

A White Paper on Broadband Connectivity in 6G

Executive Summary This white paper explores the road to implementing broadband connectivity in future 6G wireless systems. Different categories of use cases are considered, from extreme capacity with peak data rates up to 1 Tbps, to raising the typical data rates by orders-of-magnitude, to support broadband connectivity at railway speeds up to 1000 km/h. To achieve these goals, not only the terrestrial networks will be evolved but they will also be integrated with satellite networks, all facilitating autonomous systems and various interconnected structures. We believe that several categories of enablers at the infrastructure, spectrum, and protocol/algorithmic levels are required to realize the intended broadband connectivity goals in 6G. At the infrastructure level, we consider ultra-massive MIMO technology (possibly implemented using holographic radio), intelligent reflecting surfaces, user-centric and scalable cell-free networking, integrated access and backhaul, and integrated space and terrestrial networks. At the spectrum level, the network must seamlessly utilize sub-6 GHz bands for coverage and spatial multiplexing of many devices, while higher bands will be used for pushing the peak rates of point-to-point links. The latter path will lead to THz communications complemented by visible light communications in specific scenarios. At the protocol/algorithmic level, the enablers include improved coding, modulation, and waveforms to achieve lower latencies, higher reliability, and reduced complexity. Different options will be needed to optimally support different use cases. The resource efficiency can be further improved by using various combinations of full-duplex radios, interference management based on rate-splitting, machine-learning-based optimization, coded caching, and broadcasting. Finally, the three levels of enablers must be utilized not only to deliver better broadband services in urban areas, but also to provide full-coverage broadband connectivity must be one of the key outcomes of 6G

Transceiver optimization for energy-efficient multiantenna cellular networks

Abstract This thesis focuses on the timely problem of energy-efficient transmission for wireless multiantenna cellular systems. The emphasis is on transmit beamforming (BF) and active antenna set optimization to maximize the network-wide energy efficiency (EE) metric, i.e., the number of transmitted bits per energy unit. The fundamental novelty of EE optimization is that it incorporates the transceivers' processing power in addition to the actual transmit power in the BF design. The key features of the thesis are that it focuses on sophisticated power consumption models (PCMs), giving useful insights into the EE of current cellular systems in particular, and provides mathematical tools for EE optimization in future wireless networks generally. The BF problem is first studied in a multiuser multiple-input single-output system by using a PCM scaling with transmit power and the number of active radio frequency (RF) chains. To find the best performance, a globally optimal solution based on a branch-reduce-and-bound (BRB) method is proposed, and two efficient designs based on zero-forcing and successive convex approximation (SCA) are derived for practical applications. Next, joint BF and antenna selection (JBAS) is studied, which can switch off some RF chains for further EE improvements. An optimal BRB method and efficient SCA-based algorithms exploiting continuous relaxation (CR) or sparse BF are proposed to solve the resulting mixed-Boolean nonconvex problem (MBNP). In a multi-cell system, energy-efficient coordinated BF is explored under two optimization targets: 1) the network EE maximization and 2) the weighted sum EEmax (WsumEEmax). A more sophisticated PCM scaling also with the data rate and the associated computational complexity is assumed. The SCA-based methods are derived to solve these problems in a centralized manner, and distributed algorithms relying only on the local channel state information and limited backhaul signaling are then proposed. The WsumEEmax problem is solved using SCA combined with an alternating direction method of multipliers, and iterative closed-form algorithms having easily derivable computational complexity are developed to solve both problems. The work is subsequently extended to a multi-cell multigroup multicasting system, where user groups request multicasting data. For the MBNP, a modeling method to improve the performance of the SCA for solving the CR is proposed, aiming at encouraging the relaxed Boolean variables to converge at the binary values. A second approach based on sparse BF, which introduces no Boolean variables, is also derived. The methods are then modified to solve the EE and sum rate trade-off problem. Finally, the BF design with multiantenna receivers is considered, where the users can receive both unicasting and multicasting data simultaneously. The performances of the developed algorithms are assessed via thorough computer simulations. The results show that the proposed algorithms provide 30-300% EE improvements over various conventional methods in the BF optimization, and that JBAS techniques can offer further gains of more than 100%.Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja keskittyy ajankohtaiseen energiatehokkaaseen lähetinsuunnitteluun langattomissa solukkoverkoissa, joissa suorituskykymittarina käytetään energiatehokkuuden (energy efficiency (EE)) maksimointia, eli kuinka monta bittiä pystytään lähettämään yhtä energiayksikköä kohti. Työn painopiste on lähettimien keilanmuodostuksen (beamforming (BF)) ja aktiivisten lähetinantennien optimoinnissa. EE-optimoinnin uutuusarvo on ottaa lähettimien prosessoinnin tehonkulutus huomioon keilanmuodostuksen suunnittelussa, varsinaisen lähetystehon lisäksi. Työ antaa hyvän käsityksen erityisesti tämänhetkisten solukkoverkkojen energiatehokkuudesta, ja luo työkaluja EE-optimointiin tulevaisuuden järjestelmissä. Ensin suunnitellaan keilanmuodostus yksisolumallissa, jossa tehonkulutus kasvaa lähetystehon ja aktiivisten radiotaajuusketjujen lukumäärän mukana. Ongelmaan johdetaan optimaalinen ratkaisu, ja kaksi käytännöllistä menetelmää perustuen nollaanpakotukseen tai peräkkäinen konveksi approksimaatio (successive convex approximation (SCA)) -ideaan. Seuraavaksi keskitytään keilanmuodostuksen ja antenninvalinnan yhteisoptimointiin (joint beamforming and antenna selection (JBAS)), jossa radiotaajuusketjuja voidaan sulkea EE:n parantamiseksi. Tähän ehdotetaan optimaalinen menetelmä ja kaksi käytännöllistä SCA-menetelmää perustuen binääristen ja jatkuvien muuttujien yhteisoptimointiongelman relaksaatioon, tai harvan vektorin optimointiin. Monisoluverkon EE-optimoinnissa käytetään yksityiskohtaisempaa tehonkulutusmallia, joka skaalautuu myös datanopeuden ja prosessoinnin monimutkaisuuden mukaan. Työssä käytetään kahta suorituskyvyn mittaria: 1) koko verkon energiatehokkuuden, ja 2) painotettujen energiatehokkuuksien summien maksimointia (weighted sum EEmax (WsumEEmax)). Ensin johdetaan keskitetyt ratkaisut SCA-ideaa käyttäen. Tämän jälkeen keskitytään hajautettuun optimointiin, joka pystytään toteuttamaan paikallisen kanavatiedon avulla, kun matalanopeuksinen skalaariarvojen jako on käytettävissä tukiasemien välillä. Ensin WsumEEmax-ongelma ratkaistaan yhdistämällä SCA ja kerrointen vaihtelevan suunnan menetelmä, ja lisäksi ehdotetaan iteratiivinen suljetun muodon ratkaisu molempiin ongelmiin, joka mahdollistaa tarkan laskennallisen monimutkaisuuden määrityksen. Lopussa työ laajennetaan monisoluverkkoon, jossa tukiasemat palvelevat käyttäjäryhmiä ryhmälähetyksenä. Keskittymällä JBAS-ongelmaan, ensin ehdotetaan lähestymistapa parantaa SCA-menetelmän suorituskykyä yhteisoptimointiongelman relaksaation ratkaisemisessa. Toinen yksinkertaisempi lähestymistapa perustuu harvan vektorin optimointiin, joka ei vaadi binäärisiä muuttujia. Lisäksi menetelmiä muunnellaan myös energiatehokkuuden ja summadatanopeuden kompromissin optimointiin. Lopussa työ ottaa huomioon vielä moniantennivastaanottimet, joka mahdollistaa sekä täsmälähetyksen että ryhmälähetyksen samanaikaisesti. Menetelmien suorituskykyä arvioidaan laajamittaisilla tietokonesimulaatioilla. Tulokset näyttävät väitöskirjan menetelmien lisäävän energiatehokkuutta 30-300% verrattuna lukuisiin perinteisiin menetelmiin BF-optimoinnissa, ja JBAS-menetelmät antavat vielä yli 100% lisää suorituskykyä

Effective channel state acquisition in multi-cell multi-user MIMO system

In a cellular network with small cells, where all the communication resources are shared, the inter-cell interference becomes a limiting factor of performance. The strategies for mitigating the inter-cell interference has been quite extensively studied lately. One of the promising candidates is coordinated beamforming/scheduling, where a certain number of cells is allowed to cooperate such that the transmission from each cell takes into account the interference it would cause to the users of other cells. In this thesis, the performances of different signaling strategies which perform the weighted sum rate maximization in time division duplex multi-cell multi-user MIMO downlink system are studied. The strategies consist of iterative decentralized algorithms, aiming at reduced pilot signaling overhead and faster convergence. The required control information between the cells is provided via uplink reference signals and a backhaul. Uplink reference signals include sounding reference signals and busy bursts. Based on the earlier work, the strategies have now been extended to a larger cellular system in which the frequency selectivity and the uncertainty of the channel information are also taken into account. The ability of the strategies to handle the large network can be seen from the simulation results. It is shown that even when there is strong inter-cell interference, the strategies utilizing parallel cell-specific iterations offer practical convergence speed. It is also noticed that the joint optimization over many frequency blocks brings a minor improvement on the sum rate performance, meaning that it could also be utilized with the same order of computational complexity compared to the frequency flat case. Finally, the robustness of the centralized strategy to the imperfect channel state information is shown and the trade-off between the CSI uncertainty and multi-user diversity is stated.Solukkoverkossa, jossa solujen koot ovat pieniä ja kaikki käyttävät samoja taajuuksia, solujen välinen häiriö rajoittaa verkon suorituskykyä. Viime aikoina on laajasti tutkittu strategioita, joilla häiriötä saataisiin vähennettyä. Yksi lupaavista menetelmistä tähän tarkoitukseen on koordinoitu keilanmuodostus/skedulointi, jossa tietty ryhmä soluja voi koordinoida keskenään ja näin ottaa huomioon lähetyksestä aiheutuvan häiriön toisia soluja kohtaan. Tässä diplomityössä tutkitaan erilaisten painotetun summadatanopeuden maksimoivien signalointistrategioiden suorituskykyä aikajakodupleksoidussa usean solun ja käyttäjän moniantenniverkossa, jossa dataa lähetetään tukiasemasta käyttäjille. Strategiat perustuvat iteratiivisiin hajautettuihin algoritmeihin, joiden tarkoituksena on vähentää opetussignaloinnista aiheutuvaa kuormitusta ja nopeuttaa suppenemista. Kontrolli-informaation signaloimiseen verkossa käytetään käyttäjiltä tukiasemille lähetettäviä opetussignaaleja ja taustayhteyttä tukiasemien välillä. Työ perustuu aiemmin tehtyyn tutkimukseen, josta strategiat on nyt laajenettu suurempaan solukkojärjestelmään, ottaen huomioon myös taajuusselektiivisyyden ja kanavainformaation epävarmuuden vaikutukset. Simulointitulosten perusteella voidaan sanoa, että strategiat toimivat usean käyttäjän ja solun verkossa. Tuloksista nähdään, että rinnakaisia solukohtaisia iteraatioita hyödyntävillä strategioilla voidaan saavuttaa käytännöllinen suppenemisnopeus, vaikka solujen välinen häiriö on voimakasta. Taajuusselektiivisen kanavan tuloksista huomataan, että yhteisoptimointi usean taajuuslohkon yli parantaa vähän suorituskykyä verrattuna yhden taajuuden tapaukseen. Yhteisoptimointia voitaisiin siis myös hyödyntää, koska laskennallinen monimutkaisuus on samaa suuruusluokkaa verrattuna yhden taajuuden tilanteeseen. Epävarman kanavatiedon vaikutusta tutkitaan keskitetyllä optimointimenetelmällä, joka selvästi laskee suorituskykyä verrattuna täydellisen kanavan tapaukseen, mutta antaa kuitenkin selkeän parannuksen alkuperäiseen algoritmiin verrattuna. Koska opetussignaalien teho jaetaan käyttäjien kesken, tulokset näyttävät kompromissin kanavatiedon epävarmuuden ja monikäyttäjädiversiteetin välillä

Decentralized coordinated beamforming for weighted sum energy efficiency maximization in multi-cell MISO downlink

The 3rd IEEE Conference on Signal & Information Processing, Orlando, Florida, United States of America, 14-16 December 2015We study energy-efficient decentralized coordinated beam-forming in multi-cell multiuser multiple-input single-output system. The problem of interest is to maximize the weighted sum energy efficiency subject to user-specific quality of service constraints. The original problem is iteratively approximated as a convex program according to successive convex approximation (SCA) principle. The convex problem at each iteration is then formulated as a general global consensus problem, which is solved via alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). This enables base stations to independently and in parallel optimize their beamformers relying only on local channel state information and limited backhaul information exchange. In addition to waiting for the ADMM to converge as conventionally when solving the approximate convex program, we propose a method where only one ADMM iteration is performed after each SCA update step. Numerical results illustrate the fast convergence of the proposed methods and show that performing only one ADMM iteration per each convex problem can significantly improve the convergence speed.Science Foundation IrelandFinnish Funding Agency for Technology and InnovationInfotech Oulu Doctoral ProgramHPY Research FoundationWalter Ahlström FoundationTauno Tönning FoundationKAUTE Foundatio

Energy-efficient coordinated beamforming with rate dependent processing power

The 2016 IEEE 17th International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC 2016), Edinburgh, England, 3-6 July 2016This paper studies energy-efficient coordinated beamforming in multi-cell multi-user multiple-input single-output (MISO) system. On contrary to the existing approaches where the power consumption of a base station is modeled as a convex or linear function, we consider a more practical model where part of the processing power depends on the rate provided by the base stations. Two optimization criteria are considered, namely network energy efficiency maximization and weighted sum energy efficiency maximization. We develop successive convex approximation based algorithms to tackle these difficult nonconvex problems. The numerical results illustrate that the rate dependent power consumption has a large impact on the energy efficiency, and, thus, has to be taken into account when devising energy-efficient transmission strategies.European Commission - European Regional Development FundScience Foundation IrelandInfotech Oulu Doctoral ProgramAcademy of Finlan