GHz Spectrum Research Articles

Aligning Exposure Limits for Contact Currents with Exposure Limits for Electric Fields.

The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) have established limits for exposures to electromagnetic fields across the 0-300 GHz (non-ionizing) spectrum, including limits on contact currents ( CC ) specified by IEEE for 0-110 MHz (ICNIRP issued a CC "guidance level"). Both sets of limits seek to protect against potentially adverse effects, including aversive electrostimulation at frequencies <100 kHz and excessive heating of tissue at frequencies >100 kHz. For the most part, CC is linked to electric field ( E -field) exposures for an ungrounded person contacting a grounded object, with the short-circuit current ( I SC ) through the contact point (usually the hand) equivalent to the current through the grounded feet of a free-standing person exposed to a vertically polarized E -field. The physical linkage between these two quantities dictates that their respective exposure limits align with one another, which is presently not the case, especially with respect to frequencies from100 kHz to 110 MHz. Here we focus specifically on recommendations for revisions to the IEEE standard, IEEE Std C95.1™-2019 ("IEEE C95.1"), in which the E -field exposure limit ( E -field exposure reference levels, ERL s) >100 kHz induces substantially greater currents than the CC ERL s currently prescribed. The most important scenario deserving of attention concerns finger contact through a 1-cm 2 cross-sectional interface between the skin and a grounded conductor in which the rate of temperature rise in the presence of an E -field ERL can be rapid enough to cause a burn injury. This rate is highly dependent on the moistness/dryness of the skin at the contact point (i.e., its impedance)-a highly variable value-with temperature increasing more rapidly with increasing dryness (greater contact impedance). The two main remedies to alleviate the possibility of injury in this "touch" scenario are to (a) limit the time of finger contact to 1 s in all cases and (b) revise the E -field ERL between 100 kHz and 30 MHz from a "hockey-stick-shaped" curve vs. frequency to a "ramp" across this frequency range. These measures factored in with the real-world prevalence of potentially hazardous scenarios should afford greater protection against adverse outcomes than is presently the case. IEEE C95.1 also specifies limits for grasp contact (15 cm 2 in the palm) and associated wrist heating, plus heating in the ankles from free-standing induction. However, these scenarios are more manageable compared to finger touch due mainly to the comparatively lower rates of tissue heating attributable to the wrist's and ankle's relatively greater cross-sectional area. Recommendations for grasp can thus be dealt with separately. Two identified but unaddressed issues in IEEE C95.1 deserving of further attention are first, the circumstance in which a grounded person contacts an ungrounded object situated in an electric field for which there are countless numbers of scenarios that are not amenable to a single ERL . Second, arcing between an extended limb and E -field-exposed object is perhaps the most hazardous of all scenarios. Both of these scenarios cannot be stereotyped and must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Future revisions of IEEE Std C95.1-2019 (and the ICNIRP guidelines) will benefit from improved insight into strategies of affording protection from potentially adverse effects in these circumstances.

Small Fixed-Wing UAV Radar Cross-Section Signature Investigation and Detection and Classification of Distance Estimation Using Realistic Parameters of a Commercial Anti-Drone System

Various types of small drones constitute a modern threat for infrastructure and hardware, as well as for humans; thus, special-purpose radar has been developed in the last years in order to identify such drones. When studying the radar signatures, we observed that the majority of the scientific studies refer to multirotor aerial vehicles; there is a significant gap regarding small, fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Driven by the security principle, we conducted a series of Radar Cross Section (RCS) simulations on the Euclid fixed-wing UAV, which has a wingspan of 2 m and is being developed by our University. The purpose of this study is to partially fill the gap that exists regarding the RCS signatures and identification distances of fixed-wing UAVs of the same wingspan as the Euclid. The software used for the simulations was POFACETS (v.4.1). Two different scenarios were carried out. In scenario A, the RCS of the Euclid fixed-wing UAV, with a 2 m wingspan, was analytically studied. Robin radar systems’ Elvira Anti Drone System is the simulated radar, operating at 8.7 to 9.65 GHz; θ angle is set at 85° for this scenario. Scenario B studies the Euclid RCS within the broader 3 to 16 Ghz spectrum at the same θ = 85° angle. The results indicated that the Euclid UAV presents a mean RCS value (σ ¯) of −17.62 dBsm for scenario A, and a mean RCS value (σ ¯) of −22.77 dBsm for scenario B. These values are much smaller than the values of a typical commercial quadcopter, such as DJI Inspire 1, which presents −9.75 dBsm and −13.92 dBsm for the same exact scenarios, respectively. As calculated in the study, the Euclid UAV can penetrate up to a distance of 1784 m close to the Elvira Anti Drone System, while the DJI Inspire 1 will be detected at 2768 m. This finding is of great importance, as the obviously larger fixed-wing Euclid UAV will be detected about one kilometer closer to the anti-drone system.

2.4GHz Wireless Local Area Network Optimization in University Dormitory Buildings

This article describes the wireless network problems met in University dormitory buildings, especially under 2.4GHz spectrum. Through wireless network optimization such as channel re-allocation and transmission power adjustment manually, the performance of the wireless LAN could be improved a lot even for real-time services such as video and live broadcast.

Deep Learning for Path Loss Prediction at 7 GHz in Urban Environment

In the 6 GHz spectrum sharing band, unlicensed devices are managed by automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems to protect incumbent services from interference. Thus, it is important to select accurate propagation models for interference calculation and analysis. This paper utilizes a model-aided deep learning technique for path loss prediction at 7 GHz, as a representative frequency within the 6 GHz band, in an urban environment. The proposed model is a hybrid model, which leverages both domain expert knowledge from a physics-based general-purposed channel model as well as the learning-based capability from a neural network, for path loss prediction. The model is trained and tested using sufficient-quantity and high-quality real propagation measurement data collected in four locations in an urban environment. Numerical results show that the deep learning model provides a better prediction performance than most empirical models. Furthermore, the feasibility of proposed model generalization to new locations after fine-tuning is examined.

UAV-Based Volumetric Measurements toward Radio Environment Map Construction and Analysis.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-empowered communications have gained significant attention in recent years due to the promise of agile coverage provision for a large number of various mobile nodes on the ground and in three-dimensional (3D) space. Consequently, there is a need for efficient spectrum utilization in these dense aerial networks, which is characterized through radio environment maps (REMs), the construction of which is an important research area. Nevertheless, due to the difficult collection of radio frequency (RF) data, there are limited works that are based on real-world measurement campaigns. This paper presents a novel experimental setup that includes a constellation of three UAVs, the communication signals of which are measured by a software-defined radio (SDR) mounted on a separate UAV. It follows a trajectory that defines the REM's two-dimensional (2D) area on a plane, executed at four altitudes, to extend the REM to 3D. The measurements are then processed and their features (received mean power level, average difference of the mean power, percentage of meaningful correlations) are analyzed in the temporal, spatial, and frequency domains to determine the utilization of a 20 MHz band in the 2.4 GHz spectrum, as well as their variation with altitude. This analysis provides a base for research in reducing the amount of measurements (by identifying the regions of low and of high interest) and spectrum occupancy prediction for UAV-based communication coexistence.

SiO maser line ratios in the BAaDE Survey

AbstractMulti-transition SiO maser emission has been detected in over 10 thousand evolved stars across the plane of the Milky Way by the Bulge Asymmetries and Dynamical Evolution (BAaDE) survey. In addition to the large source catalog of the survey, the frequency coverage is also unprecedented: the J=1-0 (43 GHz) data cover seven separate transitions of SiO, and the J=2-1 (86 GHz) data cover ten SiO transitions. In contrast, most other SiO maser data only probe the SiO v=1 and v=2 at 43 GHz and/or the v=1 at 86 GHz. Our extended range allows for the derivation of SiO line ratios for a huge population of evolved stars, including those derived from rare transitions associated with 29SiO and 30SiO isotopologues. We examine how these ratios are affected by the specific combinations of transitions that are detected in a single source. Furthermore, we present a class of ‘isotopologue dominated’ sources where the 29SiO transitions are the brightest in the 43 GHz spectrum. Finally, using Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) light curves of our maser stars, changes in line ratios as a function of stellar phase are discussed.

A new compact ultra-wideband frequency selective surface with angular stability and polarization independence for antenna radiation enhancement in microwave imaging application

A new compact, rudimental, uni layered frequency selective surface (FSS) is proposed to work in the commercial ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum with its application in enhancing broadside radiation of an UWB antenna. The overall unit cell dimension (length × width × thickness) of the proposed UWB FSS is 0.15λL × 0.15λL × 0.016λL only where λL represents the wavelength corresponding to lowest band edge in the 3.04 to 10.88 GHz (∼112.6 %) spectrum with transmission coefficient less than −10 dB. Moreover, the proposed FSS provides certain degree of angular stability of 45° in both TE and TM planes of polarization. The proposed FSS is well suited for antenna gain augmentation as it offers linearly decreasing reflection phase profile. A compact ultra-wideband U-shaped CPW fed antenna with the dimension of 32 × 26 × 0.8 mm3 is designed that covers a bandwidth from 2.7 to 12.76 GHz (130 %). The proposed FSS is integrated with the U-shaped antenna to exhibit an improved and steady gain profile of 5.1–6.8dBi in the 2.82–12.92 GHz (128.34 %) impedance band. Maximum gain augmentation of 3.62 dBi is achieved at 9.5 GHz along with steady gain profile in the entire operating band of “antenna-FSS”, linear S21 response and flat group delay variations which implies the applicability of proposed antenna-FSS in various UWB communication purposes that comprise impulse radar, through wall imaging, microwave imaging, short range indoor communication etc. The applicability of UWB ‘antenna-FSS’ is established by ground coupling microwave imaging test in proximity of soil test bed where the fundamental characteristics of ‘antenna-FSS’ is found to be unaltered.

Reconfigurable circular patch MIMO antenna for 5G (sub‐6 GHz) and WLAN applications

SummaryIn this article, a circular patch microstrip feed line monopole radiator with a dimension of 15 × 20 × 1.6 mm3 is proposed. An inverted L‐shaped stub is employed in the partial ground plane to achieve optimum bandwidth, radiation pattern and radiation efficiency. To further cover the sub‐6 GHz spectrum (3.4–3.8 GHz) for future 5G communications, a two‐element MIMO antenna configuration is designed by utilising the single element antenna. The edge‐to‐edge distance between the two elements is 0.15λ0 (15 mm). The propose antenna achieved dual‐operating bands of 3.35–4.60 and 4.93–5.19 GHz in the diode (D) = ON state. The minimum isolation between 3.35–3.94 and 4.99–5.16 GHz frequency range is −14.5 and −12.5 dB, respectively, by incorporating a rectangular stub between two inverted L‐shaped stubs. The MIMO antenna has a peak gain of 2.68 dBi at 5.1 GHz frequency. The average total efficiency at port‐1 between 3.35–3.94 and 4.93–5.19 GHz frequency range is 65%, whereas at port‐2 is 75%. In terms of the envelop correlation coefficient (ECC), mean effective gain (MEG) and total active reflection coefficient (TARC), the proposed antenna's diversity performance characteristics are investigated and the obtained values are 0.09, ±3 and −3 dB, respectively. The suggested MIMO antenna is designed on a FR4 substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.4 and an electrical dimension of 0.34λ0 × 0.20λ0 × 0.015λ0 mm3 (where λ0 represents the free space wavelength at lower cut‐off frequency [2.95 GHz]). Therefore, the proposed antenna can find applications for rain or fog as well as for identification and tracking (weather radar) on S‐band at 3 GHz frequency, 5G (sub‐6 GHz) and WLAN applications.

A compact quad element MIMO antenna for LTE/5G (sub-6 GHz) applications

Abstract In this paper, a compact I shaped monopole radiator with a dimension of 24 × 22 × 1.6 mm3 is proposed. The monopole radiator achieved an impedance bandwidth of 1.46 GHz (4.06–5.52 GHz) using partial ground plane. Further to cover the sub-6 GHz spectrum (3.4–3.6 GHz) for future 5G communications, a four-element multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna configuration is designed by utilizing the single element antenna. The operation bandwidth of 2.27 GHz (3.37–5.64 GHz) is enhanced by using a tapered microstrip feed line. Isolation is increased upto 40 dB over the operating band (3.37–5.64 GHz) by using a modified rectangular stub in the partial ground plane. This stub also provides a decoupling path and consequently limited amount of current couples to the neighbouring element due to surface waves. The modified stub suppress the surface waves and the near fields reducing the coupling between the antennas keeping it below −10 dB for the whole desired frequency range. Therefore, the proposed MIMO antenna achieved wide bandwidth of (3.37–5.64 GHz) and minimum isolation between antenna elements 1 &amp; 4 is −10 dB in 3.4–3.6 GHz frequency band, whereas −15 dB between 3.8 and 5.64 GHz frequency band. The suggested MIMO antenna is designed on a FR4 substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.4 and a loss tangent of 0.02 and a 0.45λ 0 × 0.45λ 0 dimension. In terms of the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain (DG), mean effective gain (MEG), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), isolation between the ports, and channel capacity loss (CCL), the proposed antenna’s diversity performance characteristics are investigated and the obtained values are 0.04, 9.98, ±3, −11, −15 dB, 0.10 bits/s/Hz respectively. The antenna prototypes have been fabricated, and the measurements and simulations have been found to be in close agreement. Therefore, the proposed MIMO antenna covers n77/n78/n79 for 5G (sub-6 GHz) and LTE bands of 42/43/46.

An Integrated Terrain and Clutter Propagation Model for 1.7 GHz and 3.5 GHz Spectrum Sharing

Over the past decade, spectrum sharing has evolved into viable commercial systems poised to meet the ever-increasing spectrum demand from service providers and end users. The key to the success of these systems is accurate and reliable propagation models that will simultaneously maximize the number of users able to access the spectrum and minimize the interference to incumbent or protected users. The classical propagation models currently utilized by these systems—the irregular terrain model (ITM) and extended hata (eHata)—do not account for features, such as foliage or endpoint clutter that can have a large impact on propagation loss. This article presents a measurement-based framework for updating these classical models and proposes a new integrated terrain and clutter model using publicly available geographic information system datasets. Over 400 000 path loss measurements were recorded in nine diverse locations across the United States at 1.7 and 3.5 GHz. Our updates improved the rms difference between measurements and model by 3–7 dB for ITM and 3–14 dB for eHata. In addition, we demonstrate several integrated terrain and clutter models that have rms differences ranging from 9.5 to 17.8 dB. Finally, cross validation was used to demonstrate the generalizability of our models to a wide variety of propagation environments.

Dual-Mode Scandium-Aluminum Nitride Lamb-Wave Resonators Using Reconfigurable Periodic Poling

This paper presents the use of ferroelectric behavior in scandium–aluminum nitride (ScxAl1−xN) to create dual-mode Lamb-wave resonators for the realization of intrinsically configurable radio-frequency front-end systems. An integrated array of intrinsically switchable dual-mode Lamb-wave resonators with frequencies covering the 0.45–3 GHz spectrum. The resonators are created in ferroelectric scandium–aluminum nitride (Sc0.28Al0.72N) film and rely on period poling for intrinsic configuration between Lamb modes with highly different wavelengths and frequencies. A comprehensive analytical model is presented, formulating intrinsically switchable dual-mode operation and providing closed-form derivation of electromechanical coupling () in the two resonance modes as a function of electrode dimensions and scandium content. Fabricated resonator prototypes show s as high as 4.95%, when operating in the first modes over 0.45–1.6 GHz, 2.23% when operating in the second mode of operation over 0.8–3 GHz, and series quality factors () over 300–800. Benefiting from lithographical frequency tailorability and intrinsic switchability that alleviate the need for external multiplexers, and large and , dual-mode Sc0.28Al0.72N Lamb-wave resonators are promising candidates to realize single-chip multi-band reconfigurable spectral processors for radio-frequency front-ends of modern wireless systems.

Gain and isolation enhancement of a wideband MIMO antenna using metasurface for 5G sub-6 GHz communication systems

This work proposes a compact metasurface (MS)-integrated wideband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna for fifth generation (5G) sub-6 GHz wireless communication systems. The perceptible novelty of the proposed MIMO system is its wide operating bandwidth, high gain, lower interelement gap, and excellent isolation within the MIMO components. The radiating patch of the antenna is truncated diagonally with a partially ground plane, and a metasurface has been employed for enhancing the antenna performance. The suggested MS integrated single antenna prototype has a miniature dimension of 0.58λ × 0.58λ × 0.02λ. The simulated and measured findings demonstrate a wideband characteristic starting from 3.11 to 7.67 GHz including a high realized gain of 8 dBi. The four-element MIMO system has been designed by rendering each single antenna orthogonally to one another while retaining compact size and wideband properties between 3.2 and 7.6 GHz. The suggested MIMO prototype has been designed and fabricated on a low loss Rogers RT5880 substrate with a miniature dimension of 1.05λ × 1.05λ × 0.02λ and its performance is evaluated using a suggested 10 × 10 array of a square enclosed circular split ring resonators within the same substrate material. The inclusion of the proposed metasurface with a backplane significantly reduces antenna backward radiation and manipulates the electromagnetic field, thus improving the bandwidth, gain and isolation of MIMO components. The suggested 4-port MIMO antenna offers a high realized gain of 8.3 dBi compared to existing MIMO antennas with an excellent average total efficiency of 82% in the 5G sub-6 GHz spectrum and is in good accordance with measured results. Furthermore, the developed MIMO antenna exhibits outstanding diversity characteristics in respect of envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) less than 0.004, diversity gain (DG) close to 10 dB (> 9.98 dB) and high isolation between MIMO components (> 15.5 dB). Therefore, the proposed MS-inspired MIMO antenna substantiates its applicability for 5G sub-6 GHz communication networks.

A New Beamforming Approach Using 60 GHz Antenna Arrays for Multi-Beams 5G Applications

Recent studies and research have centred on new solutions in different elements and stages to the increasing energy and data rate demands for the fifth generation and beyond (B5G). Based on a new-efficient digital beamforming approach for 5G wireless communication networks, this work offers a compact-size circular patch antenna operating at 60 GHz and covering a 4 GHz spectrum bandwidth. Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (M–MIMO) and beamforming technology build and simulate an active multiple beams antenna system. Thirty-two linear and sixty-four planar antenna array configurations are modelled and constructed to work as base stations for 5G mobile communication networks. Furthermore, a new beamforming approach called Projection Noise Correlation Matrix (PNCM) is presented to compute and optimise the fed weights of the array elements. The key idea of the PNCM method is to sample a portion of the measured noise correlation matrix uniformly in order to provide the best representation of the entire measured matrix. The sampled data will then be utilised to build a projected matrix using the pseudoinverse approach in order to determine the best fit solution for a system and prevent any potential singularities caused by the matrix inversion process. The PNCM is a low-complexity method since it avoids eigenvalue decomposition and computing the entire matrix inversion procedure and does not require including signal and interference correlation matrices in the weight optimisation process. The suggested approach is compared to three standard beamforming methods based on an intensive Monte Carlo simulation to demonstrate its advantage. The experiment results reveal that the proposed method delivers the best Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) augmentation among the compared beamformers.

Polarization insensitive dual band metamaterial with absorptance for 5G sub-6 GHz applications

A couple ring enclosed circular geometric resonator (CRECGR) based dual-band polarization insensitive metamaterial (MM) with high effective medium ratio (EMR), and excellent absorptance is proposed in this study, which can be utilized as a sensor and absorber in the 5G sub-6 GHz frequency range. A circular geometry-based unique patch has been introduced in the proposed unit cell to achieve high polarization insensitive properties with excellent absorption for the 5G sub-6 GHz spectrum. The distinctive feature of this proposed CRECGR unit cell is its simple and unique structure with a high EMR of 11.13, polarization insensitive up to 180°, and epsilon negative (ENG) properties, including a negative refractive index and near-zero permeability for 5G sub-6 GHz applications. Furthermore, this designed unit cell yields excellent absorption properties with high quality factor. The designed MM unit cell is fabricated on low loss Rogers RT5880 printed media with an electrical dimension of 0.089λ × 0.089λ × 0.017λ. The performance of the designed CRECGR metamaterial is determined using Computer Simulation Technology (CST), Advanced Design Software (ADS), and measurements. The CRECGR unit cell offers dual resonances at 3.37 GHz and 5.8 GHz, covering the 5G sub-6 GHz band with ENG, near-zero permeability and negative index. The polarization insensitive properties of the unit cell were also investigated for maximum angle of incidence, which confirmed the identical response. The simulated outcome is verified by experiment with excellent accordance. Moreover, the unit cell performance with a complete backplane is explored, noting a maximum absorption of 99.9% for all normal and oblique incidence waves, suitable for sensing and antenna systems. In addition, the suggested unit cell sensing performance is evaluated using the permittivity-based sensing model. The proposed MM outperforms recent related studies in terms of polarization insensitivity up to 180°, high insensitive absorptivity, high EMR, and sensing applications. These features prove that the proposed CRECGR metamaterial is perfect for 5G Applications.

Reconfigurable dual element dual band MIMO antenna for 5G (Sub-6 GHz) and WLAN applications

PurposeThis study aims to present dual band reconfigurable MIMO antenna for 5G (sub-6 GHz) and WLAN applications.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve optimum bandwidth, radiation pattern and radiation efficiency, the defected ground structure (DGS) and a rectangular stub connected with the DGS are used. To further cover the sub-6 GHz spectrum (3.4–3.6 GHz) for future 5G communications, a two-element multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna configuration is designed by using the single element antenna. The proposed reconfigurable MIMO antenna using a PIN diode is designed on an FR4 substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.4 and a loss tangent of 0.02 and a 35 × 20 × 1.6 mm3 dimension.FindingsThe proposed antenna achieved dual operating bands of 3.4–4.1 GHz (5 G sub-6GHz applications) and 4.99–5.16 GHz (WLAN application) in the D = ON state. For D = OFF state, the proposed antenna achieved 3.55–3.65 GHz and 3.66–4.05 GHz frequency bands for 5G (sub-6GHz) applications. In terms of the envelop correlation coefficient, diversity gain, mean effective gain, total active reflection coefficient and isolation between the ports, the proposed antenna’s diversity performance characteristics are investigated and the obtained values are 0.05, 9.9 dB, ±3dB, −4dB, −15dB, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe fabricated prototype antenna on FR4 substrate has measurable parameters that are in good agreement with the simulated findings. Due to hardware design limitations, there is a minor difference between software and hardware results.Originality/valueThe proposed MIMO antenna is compact and reconfigurable for 5G (sub-6GHz) and WLAN applications, and from the graph, the measurements and simulations have been found to be in close agreement.

A compact super wideband antenna with stable and improved radiation using super wideband frequency selective surface

A small bulb shaped planar super wideband (SWB) antenna with the dimension of 35 × 30 × 0.8 mm3 operating over 2.8–40 GHz (14.28:1) spectrum is proposed. The antenna offers a fractional bandwidth of 173.8%, bandwidth dimension ratio (BDR) of 1904, measured peak gain of 5.5 dBi and radiation efficiency of 80%. The proposed antenna is unified to an unique SWB frequency selective surface (FSS), having unit cell size equal to 0.114λL × 0.114λL × 0.008λL (λL is the wavelength at 3.1 GHz). The FSS operates in 3.05 to 35.92 GHz spectrum (168.7%) with transmission level S21 ≤ -10 dB and reflection S11 near 0 dB for TE and TM modes of polarization with adequate angular stability. The linearly decreasing S11 phase of FSS makes it appropriate for radiation improvement of the bulb shaped antenna in the broadside direction by placing the antenna at the top of FSS with an optimal air gap of 19 mm. The SWB ‘antenna-FSS’ exhibits wideband response over 3–36.2 GHz (169.4%) spectrum, including commercial ultra-wideband (3.1–10.6 GHz), ISM bands (5.725–5.875 GHz & 24–24.25 GHz), WiMAX (3.3–3.7 GHz), IEEE 802.11 WLAN bands, S-C-X-Ku-Ka bands, and 5G NR (n77, n78, n79, n257, n258, n261) bandwidth with stable and adequate gain of 5.2–7.16 dBi and an acceptable radiation efficiency.

Attenuation of millimetre wave radio signal at worst hour rainfall rate in a tropical region: A case study, Nigeria

The classical sub-6 GHz spectrum currently being used by wireless networks cannot support the requirement of 5G and higher upcoming mobile communication networks due to its limited bandwidth. Millimeter Wave (MMW) radio systems operating at 30 to 300GHz band provides higher bandwidth, frequency reuse and communications security but suffers greatly from atmospheric, environmental and rain attenuation. The attenuation of millimeter wave radio signal at worst hour rainfall rate was therefore investigated. The data was collected from the Tropospheric Data Acquisition network (TRODAN), the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Federal University of Technology, Akure. The rainfall rates were measured at 5 and 1-minutes integration time and the Lavergnat and Gole model was used for the conversion of the measured 5 minute to equivalent 1-minute values. The results revealed that throughout the study period, about 66.67% of the sites recorded the worst rainfall events at the 15 hours Local Time (LT). The range of rainfall rate at 0.01% exceedance was 1.18 to 62 mm/hr while at 0.001% it ranged from 51.50 to 116 mm/hr. The specific attenuation at the threshold frequency of 200 GHz at the 0.01% exceedance ranged from 1.638 to 6.175 dB/km. The clear signal band frequency threshold was 60 GHz and the path attenuation ranged from 15.34 dB to 20.43 dB. These results suggest the inclusion of the estimated attenuation values by radio propagation engineers in designs for this region.

Miniaturized and Selective Half-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide Bandpass Filter Using Hilbert Fractal for Sub-6 GHz 5G Applications

The present paper proposes a novel miniaturized and selective half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) bandpass filter (BPF) using Hilbert fractal geometry. A non-uniform horizontal periodical DGS (HPDGS) is introduced in the ground plane to miniaturize it further and obtain wide and steep outband rejection to enhance the filter's performance. A three-pole bandpass filter (BPF) with a center frequency of 3.5 GHz is simulated, analyzed and designed on a low-cost substrate FR-4 (εr = 4.4). The filter becomes small, shows the low insertion loss of 1.1 dB and return losses of more than 16 dB, and is appropriate for operation from 3.38 to 4.20 GHz spectrum considered for the lower band fifth-generation (5G).

Predistortion-Based Linearization for 5G and Beyond Millimeter-Wave Transceiver Systems: A Comprehensive Survey

The next-generation (5G/6G) wireless communication aims to leapfrog the currently occupied sub-6 GHz spectrum to the wideband millimeter-wave (MMW) spectrum. However, MMW spectrums with high-order modulation schemes drive the power amplifier (PA) at significant back-off, causing severe nonlinear distortions, thus deteriorating the transceiver&#x2019;s (TRXs) modulation process. Typically, the TRX efficacy is quantified with standardized linearization matrices, which take advantage of different predistortion (PD) schemes to handle deep compression of the PA. In this regard, TRX baseband signals are mostly linearized in the digital domain, where digitally controlled linearization needs higher sampling rates due to increasing MMW bandwidths to compensate for intermodulation (IMD) products, resulting in increased system cost and power consumption. Alternately, the digitally controlled analog-based linearization, i.e., the hybridization of digital predistortion (DPD) and analog predistortion (APD), is highly productive and cost-effective for fulfilling the linearized energy-efficient design vision of MMW networks. Therefore, this paper puts an extensive spotlight on the progress in PD-based linearization for 5G and beyond communications. It first provides background information on the advancements of PD schemes through recent surveys, then classifies the general roadmap of PD waveform processing across the TRX system models as preliminary. After this, we present three prominent PD architectures and their design approaches with intrinsic performance metrics. Finally, we explore four case studies encompassing PD operation under certain nonlinear constraints of different communication schemes. We examine the suitability of PD-based linearization solutions, both existing and proposed till the first quarter of 2022, and identify the potential prospects in this domain.

A Programmable Reconfigurable Two-Port Half-Loop Antenna Concept for mmWave Wireless Applications

A reconfigurable phased array architecture utilizing a two-port half-loop antenna (THLA) is proposed and demonstrated at mmWave spectrum. The polarization, pattern, and beam steering can be freely reconfigured without any changes in the hardware by adjusting the weighting vectors of each port through software control. The proposed concept is demonstrated using an 8 RF port configuration and its isolation, gain, beam pattern, and beam steering resolutions are studied. Afterward, a 2×2 THLA is exemplified as a proof-of-concept prototype for verifying its versatile radiation modes under realistic conditions. A low temperature co-fired ceramic process is applied to demonstrate its compatibility with conventional RF modules. Among the versatile modes of the 2×2 THLA, 23 distinct radiation modes are selected and experimentally verified. The reflection and mutual coupling coefficients of the 2×2 THLA are measured to be less than -10 dB at 28 GHz spectrum. Furthermore, the maximum gain of 8.47 dBi is confirmed at 28 GHz. This is the first to demonstrate a fully reconfigurable antenna which eliminates the need of any external and lumped components applicable for universal mmWave wireless applications.