Array Gain Research Articles

Conformal transmitarray based on metasurface fed by miniaturized filtering antenna

AbstractTo realize the requirements of 5G MIMO technology for high‐performance antennas, a novel high‐gain transmissive array antenna with conformal capability is designed in this study. The antenna consists of a single‐layer dielectric‐based conformal transmission array and a substrate‐integrated waveguide filter antenna. The transmission array is composed of a cross element and spiral elements that can achieve conformal capability. Each metasurface element is a single‐layer medium, and the same metasurface patches above and below are connected by four metal pillars. A filter antenna array fed by a substrate integrated with a waveguide fed by small‐scale low‐temperature cofired ceramic technology is used as the feed antenna of the transmission array. The physical test results are consistent with the simulation results, and the directivity of the antenna is greatly improved. The frequency range where the reflection coefficient S11 is less than −10 dB is 26.6–29.1 GHz. At the center frequency of 28.0 GHz, the gain of the conformal antenna array is greatly improved, and the peak gain is increased from 8.2 to 24.5 dB. The sidelobe level is substantially suppressed. Its high gain and beamforming characteristics make it have a high application value in 5G MIMO technology.

Effects of Mutual Coupling on Gain and Beam Width of a Linear Array of a Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Main Beam Scanning Applications.

The effects of mutual coupling on the scanning characteristics of a four-element linear rectangular dielectric resonator antenna array (RDRA) are investigated for different inter-element spacing in this work. In particular, the gain and half-power beam width (HPBW) of an RDRA are studied for various scan angles in the E- and H-plane configurations. It is shown that for both the E and H planes, mutual coupling has an adverse effect on the performance of both phased array configurations. The H-plane array, however, is more stable than the E-plane array in terms of a gain and beam width performance comparison. The HPBW increases and gain decreases more in the E plane than the H plane when the scan angle is increased.

Delay-Phase Precoding for Wideband THz Massive MIMO

Benefiting from tens of GHz of bandwidth, terahertz (THz) communication has become a promising technology for future 6G network. To deal with the serious propagation loss of THz signals, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) with hybrid precoding is utilized to generate directional beams with high array gains. However, the standard hybrid precoding architecture based on frequency-independent phase-shifters cannot cope with the beam split effect in THz massive MIMO caused by the large bandwidth and the large number of antennas, where the beams split into different physical directions at different frequencies. The beam split effect will result in a serious array gain loss across the entire bandwidth, which has not been well investigated in THz massive MIMO. In this paper, we first quantify the seriousness of the beam split effect in THz massive MIMO by analyzing the array gain loss it causes. Then, we propose a new precoding architecture called delay-phase precoding (DPP) to mitigate this effect. Specifically, the proposed DPP introduces a time delay network composed of a small number of time delay elements between radio-frequency chains and phase-shifters in the standard hybrid precoding architecture. Unlike <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">frequency-independent</i> phase shifts, the time delay network introduced in the DPP can realize <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">frequency-dependent</i> phase shifts, which can be designed to generate frequency-dependent beams towards the target physical direction across the entire bandwidth. Due to the joint control of delay and phase, the proposed DPP can alleviate the array gain loss caused by the beam split effect. Furthermore, we propose a hardware structure by using true-time-delayers to realize frequency-dependent phase shifts for realizing the concept of DPP. A corresponding precoding algorithm is proposed to realize the precoding design. Theoretical analysis and simulations show that the proposed DPP can mitigate the beam split effect and achieve near-optimal rate with higher energy efficiency.

A wave glider-based, towed hydrophone array system for autonomous, real-time, passive acoustic marine mammal monitoring.

An autonomous surface vehicle known as a wave glider, instrumented with a low-power towed hydrophone array and embedded digital signal processor, is demonstrated as a viable low-noise system for the passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals. Other key design elements include high spatial resolution beamforming on a 32-channel towed hydrophone array, deep array deployment depth, vertical motion isolation, and bandwidth-efficient real-time acoustic data transmission. Using at-sea data collected during a simultaneous deployment of three wave glider-based acoustic detection systems near Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in September 2019, the capability of a low-frequency towed hydrophone array to spatially reject noise and to resolve baleen whale vocalizations from anthropogenic acoustic clutter is demonstrated. In particular, mean measured array gain of 15.3 dB at the aperture design frequency results in a post-beamformer signal-to-noise ratio that significantly exceeds that of a single hydrophone. Further, it is shown that with overlapping detections on multiple collaborating systems, precise localization of vocalizing individuals is achievable at long ranges. Last, model predictions showing a 4× detection range, or 16× area coverage, advantage of a 32-channel towed array over a single hydrophone against the North Atlantic right whale upcall are presented for the continental shelf environment south of Martha's Vineyard.

Mixed-Timescale Deep-Unfolding for Joint Channel Estimation and Hybrid Beamforming

In massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, hybrid analog-digital beamforming is an essential technique for exploiting the potential array gain without using a dedicated radio frequency chain for each antenna. However, due to the large number of antennas, the conventional channel estimation and hybrid beamforming algorithms generally require high computational complexity and signaling overhead. In this work, we propose an end-to-end deep-unfolding neural network (NN) joint channel estimation and hybrid beamforming (JCEHB) algorithm to maximize the system sum rate in time-division duplex (TDD) massive MIMO. Specifically, the recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm and stochastic successive convex approximation (SSCA) algorithm are unfolded for channel estimation and hybrid beamforming, respectively. In order to reduce the signaling overhead, we consider a mixed-timescale hybrid beamforming scheme, where the analog beamforming matrices are optimized based on the channel state information (CSI) statistics offline, while the digital beamforming matrices are designed at each time slot based on the estimated low-dimensional equivalent CSI matrices. We jointly train the analog beamformers together with the trainable parameters of the RLS and SSCA induced deep-unfolding NNs based on the CSI statistics offline. During data transmission, we estimate the low-dimensional equivalent CSI by the RLS induced deep-unfolding NN and update the digital beamformers. In addition, we propose a mixed-timescale deep-unfolding NN where the analog beamformers are optimized online, and extend the framework to frequency-division duplex (FDD) systems where channel feedback is considered. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly outperform conventional algorithms with reduced computational complexity and signaling overhead.

Slotted Antenna Array with Enhanced Radiation Characteristics for 5G 28 GHz Communications

This paper presents a 1 × 4 linear antenna array working at 28 GHz for 5G communication systems. The proposed array employs four rectangular slotted antenna elements fed by a 1 × 4 T-power divider. An artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) layer is placed below the array for increasing the radiation intensity and improving overall array gain. The measured impedance bandwidth of the proposed array with (|S11| &lt; −10 dB) is extended from 25.36 to 26.03 GHz (with a bandwidth of 0.67 GHz) and from 26.75 to 28.81 GHz (with a bandwidth of 2.06 GHz). The proposed array design exhibits a measured gain value that varies between 11.8 dBi and 13.1 dBi within the operating bands and reaches 13.1 dBi at 28 GHz. The proposed array achieves a radiation efficiency of 83.05%, and a front-to-back ratio ranging between 15 and 20 dB across the operating frequency band. The array is fabricated and tested with good matching between the simulated and tested outcomes. The improved performance of the array makes it a suitable candidate for 5G new radio (NR) communications.

Design of an Interface Layer Using CPW between an Array Antenna and TRM in X-Band Radar Systems to Minimize Leakage Fields and Improve Transmission Characteristics

In this paper, we propose an interface layer using the coplanar waveguide (CPW) between an array antenna and transmitting receiver modules (TRMs) for X-band military ship radar systems. To improve transmission characteristics, the interface layer with the CPW has three transition parts: Transition part A is between the sub miniature push-on (SMP) connector and the interface layer. Transition part B is the CPW in which the thickness gradually increases. Transition part C is for connecting the interface layer and the antenna. The measured reflection and transmission coefficients of the fabricated interface layer are −22.4 dB and −0.82 dB, respectively. To verify the proposed interface layer, we then apply the layer to a 2 × 2 X-band array antenna and measure the array antenna characteristics, such as reflection coefficients, array antenna gain, and half-power beam widths (HPBWs). The measured reflection coefficient is under −10 dB from 8.6 GHz to 10.2 GHz, and the bore-sight array gain of the 2 × 2 array antenna is 10.5 dBi at 9.5 GHz. In addition, the measured HPBWs under the same conditions are 47.8° and 39.1° in the zx- and zy-planes, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed interface layer using the CPW is suitable for X-band radar systems.

Comparative analysis of dielectric substrate materials (FR-4 & RT/Duriod 5880) for antenna array (8*1) designing

In this communication a comparative study of two materials for designing antenna array (8*1) system, simulated by CST Microwave Studio for 5G mobile (base station) applications, is carried out. Array is constructed by FR-4 (low cost substrate material) and Rogers RT/ Duriod 5880 (high efficiency substrate material).Ground and conductor patch are made by PEC (perfect electric conductor).Comparison of design parameters has been done and results of simulated arrays for two materials are determined. A Wilkinson power divider network also has been designed by PEC material for feeding. Simulated array gain 10.31dBi for FR4 (8*1) substrate material and 15.59 dBi for Roger substrate in 5G range (3.4–3.6 GHz) mobile base station applications. Efficiency of Rogers substrate is 98.14% for 8*1 array. An antenna array (4*1) is fabricated over a double sided copper laminated FR-4 epoxy glass material and the result of S 11 is verified by vector network analyzer (VNA).

Massive MIMO Hybrid Precoding for LEO Satellite Communications With Twin-Resolution Phase Shifters and Nonlinear Power Amplifiers

The massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission technology has recently attracted much attention in the non-geostationary, e.g., low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication (SATCOM) systems since it can significantly improve the energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency. In this work, we develop a hybrid analog/digital precoding technique in the massive MIMO LEO SATCOM downlink, which reduces the onboard hardware complexity and power consumption. In the proposed scheme, the analog precoder is implemented via a more practical twin-resolution phase shifting (TRPS) network to make a meticulous tradeoff between the power consumption and array gain. In addition, we consider and study the impact of the distortion effect of the nonlinear power amplifiers (NPAs) in the system design. By jointly considering all the above factors, we propose an efficient algorithmic approach for the TRPS-based hybrid precoding problem with NPAs. Numerical results show the EE gains considering the nonlinear distortion and the performance superiority of the proposed TRPS-based hybrid precoding scheme over the baselines.

A Joint Optimization Framework for IRS-Assisted Energy Self-Sustainable IoT Networks

Energy self-sustainability is critically important for future Internet of Things (IoT) networks to support an ever-growing massive number of wireless devices with low maintenance cost and high spectrum/energy efficiency. Power-splitting (PS)-based simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (PS-SWIPT) is a promising solution to realize it. However, the performance of PS-SWIPT is severely influenced by the channel attenuation caused by the detrimental radio propagation environment. Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is an emerging technology that can reconfigure the incident signal with considerable array gain so as to improve the PS-SWIPT performance. Thus, in this article, we investigate the weighted sumrate (WSR) maximization problem of the IRS-assisted multi-input–multioutput (MIMO) PS-SWIPT IoT network with multiple low-power IoT PS-based devices (PSDs). The formulated problem is nonconvex and arduous to tackle due to the presence of the intricately coupled variables and the mutually exclusive constraints. To the best of our knowledge, the problem is not addressed yet and cannot be solved by employing the existing methods directly. To cope with the problem, we develop a joint optimization framework that decomposes the original problem into several subproblems that can be solved alternately. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of IRS to improve the WSR of the PS-SWIPT energy self-sustainable IoT networks and demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms benchmark methods considerably.

High-Gain 100 GHz Antenna Array Based on Mixed PCB and Machining Technique

A W-band 8 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> 8 slot-enhanced antenna array with high gain and high aperture efficiency is proposed based on the mixed printed circuit board (PCB) and machining technique. The antenna array consists of 16 2 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> 2 antenna subarrays. The substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity is used to feed the antenna subarray, where electromagnetic fields distribute in the TE <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">220</sub> mode. The SIW cavity is fabricated by the PCB technology for low cost, low profile, and lightweight. To reduce the loss of the feeding network, a constant-amplitude in- phase power divider based on ridge gap waveguide (RGW) is adopted to feed the SIW subarray using the machining technique. Besides, the standard WR-10 waveguide to the RGW transition structure is designed for measurement. The entire antenna array is integrated and packaged in a metal box. The measured results show that the impedance bandwidth of the antenna array is 97.8–107 GHz with a reflection coefficient lower than −10 dB. Within the impedance bandwidth, the antenna array gain is higher than 24.0 dBi, and the peak gain is 26.5 dBi. Moreover, an aperture efficiency of the antenna is larger than 75%.

Adaptive subarray coherence based post-filter using array gain in medical ultrasound imaging

This paper presents an adaptive subarray coherence-based post-filter (ASCBP) applied to the eigenspace-based forward–backward minimum variance (ESB-FBMV) beamformer to simultaneously improve image quality and beamformer robustness. Additionally, the ASCBP can separate close targets. The ASCBP uses an adaptive noise power weight based on the concept of the beamformer’s array gain (AG) to suppress the noise adaptively and achieve improved images. Moreover, a square neighborhood average was applied to the ASCBP in order to provide more smoothed square neighborhood ASCBP (SN-ASCBP) values and improve the speckle quality. Through simulations of point phantoms and cyst phantoms and experimental validation, the performance of the proposed methods was compared to that of delay-and-sum (DAS), MV-based beamformers, and subarray coherence-based post-filter (SCBP). The simulated results demonstrated that the ASCBP method improved the full width at half maximum (FWHM) by 57 % and the coherent interference suppression power (CISP) by 52 dB compared to the SCBP post-filter. Considering the experimental results, the SN-ASCBP method presented the best enhancement in terms of generalized contrast to noise ratio (gCNR) and contrast ratio (CR) while the ASCBP showed the best improvement in FWHM among other methods. Furthermore, the proposed methods presented a striking performance in low SNRs. The results of evaluating the different methods under aberration and sound speed error illustrated the better robustness of the proposed methods in comparison with others.

High gain and circularly polarized beam-switching 8 × 8 Vivaldi antenna array for X-band application

AbstractAn 8 × 8 butler Vivaldi beam-steering antenna array is introduced for X-band application. Circularly polarized array is made of eight Vivaldi elements with 1×8 platform and an 8×8 beam feeding network. Vivaldi radiating element is used in array form to enhance impedance bandwidth and overall efficiency such as gain. Using microwave passive components, for instance, 3 dB branch line couplers and crossover help to have orthogonal modes for feeding each of the elements, hence circular polarization property is achieved. Extracted results show that the array has an impedance bandwidth over 7–12.7 GHz (~58%) for VSWR≤2 and an axial-ratio bandwidth of 3.15 GHz that is between 8.15 and 11.3 GHz (~33%). The peak gain of antenna array is 18 dBi at 10 GHz. The proposed beam-steering antenna with compact size and good operation is capable to cover an angle range from −42 to 55 degree in whole operation frequency.

Characteristics of Channel Eigenvalues and Mutual Coupling Effects for Holographic Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces.

As a prospective key technology for the next-generation wireless communications, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have gained tremendous research interest in both the academia and industry in recent years. Only limited knowledge, however, has been obtained about the channel eigenvalue characteristics and spatial degrees of freedom (DoF) of systems containing RISs, especially when mutual coupling (MC) is present between the array elements. In this paper, we focus on the small-scale spatial correlation and eigenvalue properties excluding and including MC effects, for RISs with a quasi-continuous aperture (i.e., holographic RISs). Specifically, asymptotic behaviors of far-field and near-field eigenvalues of the spatial correlation matrix of holographic RISs without MC are first investigated, where the counter-intuitive observation of a lower DoF with more elements is explained by leveraging the power spectrum of the spatial correlation function. Second, a novel metric is proposed to quantify the inter-element correlation or coupling strength in RISs and ordinary antenna arrays. Furthermore, in-depth analysis is performed regarding the MC effects on array gain, effective spatial correlation, and eigenvalue architectures for a variety of element intervals when a holographic RIS works in the radiation and reception mode, respectively. The analysis and numerical results demonstrate that a considerable amount of the eigenvalues of the spatial correlation matrix correspond to evanescent waves that are promising for near-field communication and sensing. More importantly, holographic RISs can potentially reach an array gain conspicuously larger than conventional arrays by exploiting MC, and MC has discrepant impacts on the effective spatial correlation and eigenvalue structures at the transmitter and receiver.

The Effects of Vertical Correlation Characteristics on Vertical Array Gain Performance in Deep Water

Spatial correlation characteristics of sound field have significant impact on array gain. Compared with the single-sensor receiving scenario, the vertical array with multiple receivers can remarkably enhance signal-to-noise ratio and detection ability. For the large-scale vertical array deployed in the incomplete deep-water sound channel, different bathymetry conditions or source-receiver ranges lead to different vertical correlation patterns, thus leading to the variation of array gain. Based on the deep-water experimental data conducted in the South China Sea, the effects of the vertical correlation on array gain performance are studied in both the flat and the uneven bottom environments. In the flat bottom environment, three representative ranges in the direct arrival zone and first shadow zone are chosen, respectively, to analyze how vertical correlation characteristics would affect the array gain performance. In the uneven bottom environment, attention is confined to those ranges that endure significant transmission loss differences when compared with the flat bottom environment. In summary, when the correlation coefficients grow smaller, it is observed that the array gains of different beamformers decrease, along with the energy drifting away from the first few eigenvalues and dispersing on many other eigenvalue elements. At the same time, the gap between the array gain results of eigenvalue beamforming and optimal quadratic beamforming would grow wider and the effective rank of signal covariance matrix would sprawl as well. The study is of great significance to analyze and enhance vertical sonar array detection performance at different ranges under various environmental conditions in deep water.

Low-Complexity Precoding by Exploiting Spatial Sparsity in Massive MIMO Systems

A massive multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) system can bring substantial improvement in spectral and energy efficiency for wireless communication systems. The high array gain and fine spatial resolution allow the utilization of relatively simple processing at the base station, such as the near-optimal regularized zero-forcing (RZF) precoding. Nevertheless, such precoding schemes require computing the inverse and multiplication of matrices, which leads to a large burden for baseband processing when the system dimension grows large. To take full advantage of the spatial sparsity of massive MIMO channels in the finite scattering environment, we propose a virtual channel precoding strategy that directly utilizes the sparse virtual channel representation (VCR) in precoding. Furthermore, we develop a virtual channel RZF precoding algorithm based on the pre-conditioned conjugate gradient method, namely PCG-VC-RZF, which can directly use the sparse virtual channel matrix while avoiding the complex computation of the Gram matrix. The computational complexity and transmission delay are shown to be reduced tremendously by the proposed algorithm when operating in a large-dimension system. We further provide a beam selection strategy for improving the performance of the proposed approach under a complexity constraint. The simulation results verify the efficiency of the proposed precoding scheme.

Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) Allocation Scheduling Method Using Combinatorial Optimization by Quantum Computing

Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) significantly improves the energy utilization efficiency in 6th generation cellular communication systems. Here, we consider a system with multiple IRS and users, with one user communicating via several IRSs. In such a system, the user to which an IRS is assigned for each unit time must be determined to realize efficient communication. The previous studies on the optimization of various parameters for IRS based wireless systems did not consider the optimization of such IRS allocation scheduling. Therefore, we propose an IRS allocation scheduling method that limits the number of users who allocate each IRS to one unit time and sets the reflection coefficients of the IRS specifically to the assigned user resulting in the maximum IRS array gain. Additionally, as the proposed method is a combinatorial optimization problem, we develop a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization formulation to solve this using quantum computing. This will lead to the optimization of the entire system at a high speed and low power consumption in the future. Using computer simulation, we clarified that the proposed method realizes a more efficient communication compared to the method where one IRS is simultaneously used by multiple users.

A Light Signaling Approach to Node Grouping for Massive MIMO IoT Networks

Massive MIMO is one of the leading technologies for connecting very large numbers of energy-constrained nodes, as it offers both extensive spatial multiplexing and large array gain. A challenge resides in partitioning the many nodes into groups that can communicate simultaneously such that the mutual interference is minimized. Here we propose node partitioning strategies that do not require full channel state information, but rather are based on nodes’ respective directional channel properties. In our considered scenarios, these typically have a time constant that is far larger than the coherence time of the channel. We developed both an optimal and an approximation algorithm to partition users based on directional channel properties, and evaluated them numerically. Our results show that both algorithms, despite using only these directional channel properties, achieve similar performance in terms of the minimum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio for any user, compared with a reference method using full channel knowledge. In particular, we demonstrate that grouping nodes with related directional properties is to be avoided. We hence realize a simple partitioning method, requiring minimal information to be collected from the nodes, and in which this information typically remains stable over the long term, thus promoting the system’s autonomy and energy efficiency.

36‐2: Optimizing Brightness with Micro Lens Array Gain Enhancing Films for Edge‐Lit Back Light Units

The on‐axis brightness of a conventional edge‐lit back light unit (BLU) was optimized by replacing the conventional down diffuser with a Micro Lens Array (MLA) gain enhancing diffuser (GEF). It was found that the brightness could be increased ~29% by using a GEF with a 90 degree apex angle prism facing the light guide plate (LGP) and pyramidal structures on the backside of the GEF. The angular orientation of the prism relative to the cross brightness enhancing films (xBEF) and the orientation ofthe xBEF relative to the light propagation direction is critical. Different edge‐lit BLUs will require different MLA‐based GEF to maximize brightness.

An Irregular Tiled Array Technique for Massive MIMO Systems

An irregular tiled array technique is proposed for the application of massive MIMO systems, where the uniformly spaced antenna array elements are irregularly divided into subarrays fed by only one radio frequency (RF) chain separately. As compared to conventional beamforming architecture, the number of RF chains is reduced to one-half or one-quarter of the original number by using domino-shaped subarrays or tetromino-shaped subarrays, respectively. Two beamforming architectures for such a framework are proposed and a minimum mean square error (MMSE) method is applied to design the layouts of irregular arrays efficiently. In the framework of single-user massive MIMO systems, numerical simulation results show that the proposed architectures outperform conventional beamforming architectures and antenna selection architecture under the same number of RF chains conditions. With saving half of the transceivers, the loss of gain of the state-of-the-art sparsely sampled array is 1.9dB in the broadside and 2.2 dB for scanning to 30° in comparison with reference array (i.e., one transceiver per element). By contrast, there is no loss of gain of domino-shaped irregular array (i.e., one transceiver per two elements) in the broadside as compared to reference array and the loss of gain will be about 1.5dB for scanning to 30°.