Journal
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION
Volume 65, Issue 12, Pages 6231-6249Publisher
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2017.2712819
Keywords
Antenna array; beamforming; massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO); millimeter wave (MMW); multibeam antenna
Funding
- Natural Science Foundation of China [61627801]
- National Science and Technology Major Project [2010ZX03007-001-01]
- Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China [20100092120013]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
With the demanding system requirements for the fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications and the severe spectrum shortage at conventional cellular frequencies, multibeam antenna systems operating in the millimeter-wave frequency bands have attracted a lot of research interest and have been actively investigated. They represent the key antenna technology for supporting a high data transmission rate, an improved signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, an increased spectral and energy efficiency, and versatile beam shaping, thereby holding a great promise in serving as the critical infrastructure for enabling beamforming and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) that boost the 5G. This paper provides an overview of the existing multibeam antenna technologies which include the passive multibeam antennas (MBAs) based on quasi-optical components and beamforming circuits, multibeam phased-array antennas enabled by various phase-shifting methods, and digital MBAs with different system architectures. Specifically, their principles of operation, design, and implementation, as well as a number of illustrative application examples are reviewed. Finally, the suitability of these MBAs for the future 5G massive MIMO wireless systems as well as the associated challenges is discussed.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available