Millimeter wave coarse beamforming using outband sub-6GHz reconfigurable antennas

Overview

This technology is a technique to address the challenges of millimeter wave (mmWave) communication in the context of high-speed mobile networks, with a focus to reduce the overhead of analog beamforming. The novel approach utilizes reconfigurable antennas operating in the sub-6GHz frequency band to aid codebook-based beam selection in the mmWave band. By exploiting the spatial correlation between signal propagation at both frequency bands, an antenna system designed with this technique would significantly reduce the complexity of beam selection, making it more practical for real-world deployment. This approach has shown promising simulation results.

Market Applications

mmWave and 5G Wireless Communication Companies: Companies involved in mmWave and 5G wireless communication can benefit from this approach to improve the efficiency and performance of their networks
Mobile Network Operators: Mobile network operators can utilize this technology to enhance the deployment of mmWave-based mobile networks with reduced latency and complexity
IoT and Autonomous Vehicles: Applications requiring high-speed wireless communication, such as IoT devices and autonomous vehicles, can benefit from the improved reliability and reduced overhead of mmWave beamforming

Key Advantages

Low Complexity Beamforming: Our approach employs a single RF chain in the sub-6GHz subsystem, making it less complex compared to methods requiring multiple RF chains at sub-6GHz frequencies
Reduced Beam Search Overhead: By leveraging spatial correlations between mmWave and sub-6GHz signals, the system achieves a substantial reduction in mmWave beam search overhead, up to 70% on average and 80% with a modest average gain loss of 3dB

Problems Solved

High mmWave Beamforming Overhead: The technique addresses the challenge of high beamforming overhead in mmWave communication, which is crucial for achieving high data rates
Latency in Dynamic Mobile Environments: The system helps alleviate latency issues by efficiently selecting optimal beams, essential in dynamic mobile environments where users frequently change location or orientation, thus improving communication reliability