Abstract
One of the main targets of the forthcoming fifth-generation (5G) cellular network will be the support of the communications for billions of sensors and actuators, so as to finally realize the Internet of things (IoT) paradigm. This pervasive scenario unavoidably requires the design of cheap antenna systems with beamforming capabilities for compensating the strong attenuations that characterize the millimeter-wave (mmWave) channel. To address this issue, this paper proposes an iterative algorithm for sparse antenna arrays that enables to derive the number of elements, their amplitudes, phases, and positions in the presence of constraints on the far-field pattern. The algorithm, which relies on the compressive sensing approach, is formulated by transforming the original nonconvex optimization problem into a convex one. To prove the suitability of the conceived solution for 5G IoT mmWave applications, numerical examples and comparisons with other existing methods are provided, considering synthesis problems with different pattern and aperture specifications.
Highlights
Four of these examples are taken from the literature, in order to have a direct benchmark with the state-of-the-art methods in terms of element saving, while the fifth example is conceived to include a more evolved multi-ring array geometry
Note that the first four problems are intentionally selected from examples already proposed in previous papers, since, according to the approach commonly adopted in the array synthesis research field, a direct comparison between the proposed and the existing algorithms can be immediately carried out
Scenario, each example is described including specific references in which the employed array is exploited for 5G sensor applications
Summary
Even if the array technology is already widespread, its importance is expected to further increase, since the directionality of the communications will represent a basic enabling functionality of the forthcoming fifth-generation (5G) and Internet of things (IoT) systems [18,19,20,21] This forecast is motivated, on one hand, by the expected presence of a huge number of active devices (smartphones, sensors, actuators), and, on the other hand, by the adoption of the millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands. The need of attenuating the reciprocal interference among the 5G equipments and of compensating the significant attenuations that characterize the mmWave channel implies the implementation of multi-antenna systems satisfying compactness and performance constraints These constraints must be combined with the possible reduction in the unit price of a device, so as to better match the market demand. This situation identifies the typical problem addressed in the research field represented by the design of sparse antenna arrays [22]
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