5G is widely considered a mobile technology that won’t be available until perhaps 2020 or 2021, and even then, not widely.
Cisco predicts that by 2021, a 5G connection will generate 4.7 times more traffic than the average 4G connection.
5G will be a quantum leap from today’s LTE-Advanced networks.
217 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making 5G Happen
There’s something in it for everyone.
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/making-5g-happen?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20171221_MWRF-001_685&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14657&utm_medium=email&elq2=e757c1604ece420da089353244981955
Tomi Engdahl says:
Beamforming to expand 4G and 5G network capacities
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4459171/Beamforming-to-expand-4G-and-5G-network-capacities
Most wireless subscribers believe all is well with their network coverage. The wireless industry knows the future tells a different story. 4G LTE has reached the theoretical limits of time and frequency resource utilization, while 5G will need new technology to meet its full potential.
The wireless industry is working feverishly to open a new degree of freedom and space for enhancing network capacity and performance to address growing connectivity demands. Engineers are looking at spatial dimension innovations, falling under the category of space division multiple access (SDMA), that will help deliver significant network capacity and performance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi versus 5G? Nope, it’s both
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4459120/Wi-Fi-versus-5G–Nope–it-s-both
Tomi Engdahl says:
Agile Front Ends Assist Mobile Satcom Terminals
http://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/agile-front-ends-assist-mobile-satcom-terminals?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180102_MWRF-001_877&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14704&utm_medium=email&elq2=de464a9a1b354775a615fd78b312b689
Development of highly integrated antennas and radio front-ends at L- through Ka-band frequencies includes numerous examples of systems suitable for mobile satcom applications.
Satellite communications (satcom) was once associated with fixed ground stations. But as wireless communications in its various forms truly becomes mobile, more advanced RF/microwave front-ends are being developed that are capable of tracking a satellite’s signals even as a ground terminal is mobile. A great deal of innovative design on these mobile satcom front-ends and antennas has been performed by IMST GmbH from L-band to Ka-band frequencies, using advanced beamforming techniques on compact MMIC devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Design a Diplexer for 275 to 500 GHz
http://www.mwrf.com/components/design-diplexer-275-500-ghz?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180102_MWRF-001_877&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14704&utm_medium=email&elq2=de464a9a1b354775a615fd78b312b689
A waveguide diplexer combines different-frequency LOs to cover a total frequency range of 275 to 500 GHz for astronomy applications.
Millimeter-wave frequencies and beyond are receiving a tremendous amount of attention for their expected application in 5G wireless communications systems. But heterodyne receivers at millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter-wave frequencies are already widely used for many scientific applications, including for remote sensing, security, and spectroscopy.
Signal frequencies as high as 500 GHz, for example, are used in many astronomical applications. In support of those uses, researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Tokyo) have developed a waveguide diplexer capable of combining local oscillator (LO) sources at different frequencies to achieve a single LO signal for the 275-to-500-GHz frequency range.
The 275-to-500-GHz diplexer uses two different hybrid couplers to divide and combine the LO signals coming from the input sources at two different frequency bands.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7352-tallainen-5g-sta-tulee-juuri-oikea-yhteys-aina-kaytossa#ETNartikel
Tomi Engdahl says:
Taking Steps to Boost Power Amp Efficiency
http://www.mwrf.com/components/taking-steps-boost-power-amp-efficiency?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180109_MWRF-001_537&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14818&utm_medium=email&elq2=7221f4916b1f44cfbc8a1b9f86c23475
High efficiency in a power amplifier depends on the types of input waveforms to be boosted and typically comes at the cost of other amplifier performance parameters, such as linearity or output power.
Efficiency is often the difference between a power amplifier (PA) being selected or rejected for a particular application. Because higher-power PAs can require large amounts of bias energy to achieve a target output-power level, a difference in efficiency of just a few percent can mean a difference in the size and cost of a power supply for a particular PA. A basic overview of PA efficiency can also help to better understand how that efficiency can impact the overall performance of a system, as well as the performance of other PA parameters (notably linearity).
An amplifier with high efficiency uses power-supply energy more effectively than an amplifier with lower efficiency. At lower efficiency levels, wasted power-supply energy is typically converted into heat at the amplifier’s active devices, which are increasingly gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors for RF/microwave PAs. GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) devices are noteworthy for a number of features that enable high-efficiency PAs at microwave frequencies
Theoretically, the highest efficiency of 100% would result in an amplifier in which all of the applied DC bias energy is converted into the increase in signal waveform power. For a truly linear amplifier, the output signal waveforms would exactly resemble the input signal waveforms, with the increase in power level.
some applied power-supply energy is lost as heat
In addition, amplifier linearity usually suffers as a result of increased efficiency
Over time, many different circuit formats have been developed with one or more active devices in attempts to achieve PAs with high efficiency and linearity, while also delivering as much output power and amplifier signal gain as possible. The circuit formats are known as Class A, B, C, D, E, and F configurations, with different biasing arrangements which provide different combinations of optimized key amplifier parameters.
An ideal Class A amplifier has 50% efficiency when delivering peak envelope power (PEP)
In a Class B amplifier, with as much as 78.5% efficiency at PEP. But it is less linear than a Class A amplifier
A Class AB amplifier combines the two approaches
As a result, it yields efficiency that is between 50% and 78.5% at PEP.
In a Class C amplifier
This biasing scheme results in efficiency that can approach 85%
the linearity suffers. This amplifier class is effective for signals that turn on and off
Class D and E amplifiers use multiple or single transistors, respectively, as switches to produce square-wave output-signal waveforms with high efficiency but poor linearity.
In general, however, most suppliers do provide the amplifier class, typically, with Class A designs meant for high linearity and Class AB, C, or higher meant to provide higher efficiency. Practical performance levels are far from theoretical, with the PAE for many commercial Class AB amplifiers considered good when reaching or exceeding 25%.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The top 5 5G wireless technologies
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4459612/The-top-5-5G-wireless-technologies-
Two of the top five most important wireless technologies for 5G networks for 2018 are the same ones that have always been of paramount importance for 5G networks: MIMO and beamforming.
MIMO and beamforming
With LTE/4G, the industry is nearing theoretical limits of time and frequency utilization. The next step in wireless, with 5G, is exploiting the spatial dimension, using any given frequency simultaneously as often as possible by emitting rigorously focused signals in different directions.
Millimeter wave (mmWave)
The frequencies originally allocated for 5G maxed out at 6 GHz. Much of the spectrum most recently allocated for 5G services by various jurisdictions around the world are at various millimeter-wave frequencies.
The mmWave range is 30 GHz to 300 GHz. New 5G allocations around the world range from the upper-20s (26 GHz and 28 GHz, for example; technically not mmWave but often lumped into the category), several bands in the 30s, and a few more in the 40s. There is a Wi-Fi band at 60 GHz that may be used for 5G wireless. Others at higher frequencies are under consideration.
Lower power wide area network (LP-WAN)
In many IoT applications, arrays of devices would connect via some wireless technology designed specifically for LP-WANs to a base station that would in turn connect with a high-speed, high bandwidth network. That network could be 5G, but it doesn’t have to be; 4G connectivity will sometimes be adequate – sometimes 3G will do.
There are several LP-WAN options out there. They include LoRaWAN, Sigfox, Weightless, NarrowBand-IoT, LTE M, Ingenu, and Symphony Link. The next version of Wi-Fi, 802.11ax, has a low-power option in the specification and might yet sneak into the mix.
Mesh networking
In some IoT applications, it will be useful to have a wireless transmission technology appropriate not only for connecting vast numbers of simple, cheap devices, but also for interconnecting them. This is where mesh networking comes in. Some of the LP-WAN options didn’t start out with support for mesh networking, but almost all of them have it now.
Mesh is hardly unique to LP-WANs. It’s already being built into wireless LAN technologies. Zigbee and Thread started out as mesh technologies, Bluetooth has added it, and the next version of Wi-Fi will have it. This next version is called 802.11ax, aka Max. (Look at “11ax.” Now flop that first 1 so it’s facing the other way. See it?).
Wireless mesh could certainly be useful in 5G.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Realizing 5G New Radio massive MIMO systems
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4459761/Realizing-5G-New-Radio-massive-MIMO-systems?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
Massive MIMO, which depends on using a large array of antennas, is the keystone technology for realizing the improvement necessary to justify the evolution from 4G to 5G wireless networks.
Fifth generation (5G) wireless access networks are being defined to meet the perpetual growth in demand for capacity and address new use cases and applications in 2020 and beyond. 5G New Radio (NR) targets up to 10Gbps peak data rates per user to offer enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services, which represents roughly 100× improvement over 4G networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Magic Component that Makes Wireless Work
http://www.mwrf.com/components/magic-component-makes-wireless-work?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180116_MWRF-001_67&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14921&utm_medium=email&elq2=b680e5bf0f2d427ca8a13a2fa3d98448
Two antenna technologies–MIMO and phased arrays–have emerged as the solution to many of the problems faced in implementing new wireless technologies like 5G cellular, Wi-Fi, and other high-speed digital standards.
Today working at millimeter-wave frequencies, antennas are things you can hold in your hand and even smaller. While antenna technology is well known today, there is still an elusive quality about it. I call it black magic. And designing an antenna is the act of following well-known mathematical theories, cookbook techniques, and empirical processes. The empirical part is where the innovation comes and the black magic occurs.
Microwave work has produced many innovative antenna types like the horn, parabolic dish, helical spirals, fractal, and many others. But two antenna technologies have emerged as the solution to many of the problems faced in implementing new wireless technologies like 5G cellular, Wi-Fi, and other high-speed digital standards. These technologies, as you probably know, are MIMO and phased arrays.
MIMO uses multiple conventional antennas (and transceivers) to produce spectral diversity and multiplexing that in turn can boost data rate and reliability in a fixed bandwidth. Phased arrays are matrices of antennas to produce high gain and agile beamforming. It is these antenna technologies that are making 5G and other mmWave products possible.
Phased arrays have been around for decades, mostly in military radar. The technology is generally well known, but the components to implement them are now highly developed, making smaller, better-than-ever phased arrays. At mmWave frequencies like 28 and 39 GHz, arrays are very small. Matrices of patch antennas can be fed with low-noise amplifiers, GaN power amps, direct conversion IC transceivers, and digitally controlled phase shifters to produce agile beamforming, and even multiple beams. At frequencies like 60 GHz and 77 GHz, the phased array antenna is small enough to be implemented at the chip level.
Just a few recent product introductions illustrate the growth of the phased array and MIMO. For example, Analog Devices’ AD9371 dual RF transceiver makes it easier to build phased arrays with beamforming at frequencies up to 6 GHz. You can buy Anokiwave’s AWA-0134, a 256-element electronically scanned antenna for 28-GHz 5G applications. They make the front-end chips to implement 26-28 and 39 GHz arrays. Ethertronics’ EC477 Active Steering Processor and the EC624 Active Steering Antenna Switch provide support for up to 8 × 8 MIMO. Movandi makes a new RFIC front-end called BeamX that integrates RF, antenna, beamforming, and control algorithms into modular 5G millimeter wave solutions in 28- and 39-GHz versions. Look for more to come.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Algorithms to Antenna: Achieve System Performance Goals with Less Hardware
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/algorithms-antenna-achieve-system-performance-goals-less-hardware?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180118_MWRF-001_260&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14967&utm_medium=email&elq2=ed6fc9ca6ab04e5494f67fd36aae9627
Part 3 of this series examines hybrid beamforming, which partitions beamforming between the digital and RF domains.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless Technology: The Existential Necessity of Life
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/wireless-technology-existential-necessity-life?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180123_MWRF-001_472&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15036&utm_medium=email&elq2=783f31ec516d4c7d8bd0cd1f46359e43
We take a look at the technology behind the technologies like LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi and how it is continuing to improve.
Wireless technology dominates our lives these days, yet most of us do not notice until it isn’t there. We take our smartphones and Wi-Fi connections for granted and simply expect them to work. Wireless services have become like electricity. How can we live without them? Here is a look at the dominant wireless technologies like LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi and how they are continuing to improve.
Wireless Update
The wireless technologies we all use daily are cellular LTE and Wi-Fi. LTE is gradually morphing into 5G and Wi-Fi continues to get better. The common theme behind the recent and coming improvements is faster data rates and increased capacity. Video demand is the primary reason for the need for more speed. Wireless standards continue to meet that expectation.
Now the 802.11ax standard has come along to provide an even more aggressive upgrade. This standard has not been finally ratified but, as usual, chip companies have already implemented it. Final approval is expected in 2019. 11ax uses either 2.4 or 5 GHz channels, switches from OFDM to OFDMA, adds 1024QAM with FDD, and uses narrower subcarriers.
A somewhat forgotten technology is WiGig or the 802.11ad standard that uses the 60 GHz band. Speeds to 7 Gb/s are possible, but the range is restricted to about 10 meters with line-of-site coverage and no wall penetration.
LTE. Long Term Evolution is our current 4G worldwide cellular standard.
Advanced version as defined by 3GPP Release 10. LTE-A adds carrier aggregation (CA) and higher-level 8×8 MIMO. CA allows operators to combine up to five 20 MHz channels (contiguous or non-contiguous) into one channel as a way to boost data rate. Along with higher MIMO, the potential maximum data rate is 1 Gb/s.
And let’s not forget that LTE is increasingly being used for some IoT/M2M applications, thanks to the new LTE-M and NB-IoT standards. New LTE-M (Cat 1) modules are available
5G. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is still working on 5G, but concurrently companies are testing 5G New Radio (NR) equipment. And we should see a first draft (Release 15) during 2018.
The goals for 5G are a user capacity of x100 existing LTE capability, downlink data rates up to 10 Gb/s, and a latency of less than 10 ms.
Multiple Antennas are the Solution
Wi-Fi, LTE, and 5G all have one thing in common. Their increases in data rate and user capacity have come primarily from advanced antenna techniques. With spectrum limited and most technologies up against Shannon’s law, it would seem that data rates should have topped out long ago. Antenna technology like MIMO, phased arrays, and agile beamforming and steering have made it possible to continue to boost data rates while accommodating more users with the same or less spectrum.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tiny Microstrip Antenna Covers WLAN, LTE, and WiMAX
http://www.mwrf.com/components/tiny-microstrip-antenna-covers-wlan-lte-and-wimax?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180123_MWRF-001_472&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15036&utm_medium=email&elq2=783f31ec516d4c7d8bd0cd1f46359e43
This design combines three wireless operating frequencies into one easy-to-integrate microstrip antenna that can be made extremely small in size.
Growing use of radio/wireless technology creates greater demand for small, efficient, and low-cost antennas in a range of telecommunications and wireless local area network (WLAN) applications, as well as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), satellite communications (satcom), and spacecraft.1 Desirable properties for such an antenna include mechanical durability, conformability, low cross-polarized radiation patterns, and economical fabrication.
Growing use of radio/wireless technology creates greater demand for small, efficient, and low-cost antennas in a range of telecommunications and wireless local area network (WLAN) applications, as well as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), satellite communications (satcom), and spacecraft.1 Desirable properties for such an antenna include mechanical durability, conformability, low cross-polarized radiation patterns, and economical fabrication.
Microstrip patch antennas became well received in wireless communications systems due to their low cost of fabrication and effectiveness in those systems.
The main drawback of microstrip antennas is their narrow bandwidth. Classical microstrip antennas yield a maximum bandwidth of about 8%. A number of approaches have been developed to overcome this limit
Tomi Engdahl says:
NYU Spinoff Develops 5G Emulator
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332902
5G consists of a host of technologies that include mmWave frequencies and multiple antennas. Because mmWave signals must overcome losses not encountered at lower frequencies, the industry is moving to multiple antennas and phased-array technology that direct signals to their destination with higher power than today’s omnidirectional signals. Testing such systems is difficult, but a startup out of NYU Tandon School of Engineering may just make channel emulation practical and affordable.
Started by post-doctoral research fellow Aditya Dhananjay and NYU faculty members Sundeep Rangan and Dennis Shasha, Millilabs has developed a system that uses off-the-shelf hardware that emulates both the transmission channel and the phased-array antennas needed to produce MIMO signals.
Using PXI instruments, the Millilabs emulator (Figure 1) incorporates National Instruments FPGA cards that emulate the conditions that signals might encounter in a live situation. The system uses analog-to-digital converter (ADC) cards to emulate signals sent from an antenna. After signal processing is done with two FPGA cards, the digital signals go to digital-to-analog converters (DACs), which emulate signals from the receiving antennas.
Millilabs has developed a system that emulates multiple beamforming signals and their signal paths.
According to Dhananjay, the FPGAs can adjust the following conditions:
Noise figure
Number of antenna elements. While the current system emulates up to 1,024 antennas, there is theoretically no limit.
Spacing of antenna elements, such as λ/4 and λ/2
Polarization (horizontal, vertical, and circular)
Errors in phased arrays
Beamforming vector and noise imperfections
Phase noise
System clocks (CMOS and crystal sources)
“By virtue of the joint channel and front-end emulation, the hardware cost doesn’t change as you increase the number of antennas,” said Dhananjay. “The relative cost savings depends on the number of antennas compared to traditional systems.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Beam-Steering Antenna for 5G Mobile Phones
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/a-beam-steering-antenna-for-real-world-mobile-phones
Now researchers from the Shanghai Institute for Advanced Communication and Data Science at Shanghai University in China have developed a 28 Gigahertz (GHz) beam-steering antenna array that can be integrated into the metallic casing of 5G mobile phones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MilliLabs Ignores Industry Skepticism to Build Emulator for Millimeter Waves
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/millilab-ignores-industry-skepticism-to-build-5g-emulator-for-millimeter-waves
Throughout its development, 5G has been plagued by a simple problem: Is there a way for engineers to test millimeter wave propagation without committing to expensive and complex methods? The founders of one startup, MilliLabs, say they’ve found a solution.
“Everyone was doing over-the-air testing and we’re saying, ‘Dude, that’s nuts,’” says Aditya Dhananjay, the co-founder and president of MilliLabs. It was widely assumed that emulating millimeter waves was, for all intents and purposes, impossible.
In December 2017, Maryam Rofougaran, one of the co-CEOs of Movandi, a wireless industry startup, said that over-the-air testing was “inevitable” as the standard method of testing millimeter wave signals. A whole host of problems—antenna design, signal construction, and more than anything, cost—make the building of test systems to emulate millimeter wave propagation in real environments vastly different from emulating lower-frequency radio waves.
The most expensive 4G emulators, with four antennas in and four out, already cost half a million US dollars each. For 5G, with millimeter wave signals expected to require, at a conservative guess, 10 times as many antennas, the proposition becomes prohibitively complex and expensive.
Ultimately, their emulator sends only two pieces of information into the channel model—the mathematically defined signal and the direction it will travel through the emulated environment. Yet it can also emulate up to 1,024 antennas on each end, and handle bandwidth well over 2 GHz. For comparison, the biggest commercially available emulators have eight antennas on each side, and the best bandwidth that 4G emulators can do is 160 MHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/startup-pivotal-commware-promises-holographic-beam-forming-for-5g
Tomi Engdahl says:
Keysight takes test virtual, targets 5G
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460278/Keysight-takes-test-virtual–targets-5G-?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
Keysight Technologies is introducing a new software platform it devised to stitch together the poorly connected development stages in the electronics product cycle into a unified workflow. The first industry application Keysight will address with this platform, called PathWave, will be 5G systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.ficom.fi/ajankohtaista/uutiset/mobiilidata-5g-ja-kuituverkot
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analog Devices AD9375 Transceiver | Digi-Key Daily
https://www.digikey.com/en/videos/a/analog-devices/analog-devices-ad9375-transceiver–digikey-daily
ADI’s AD9375 is a 300 to 6000 MHz dual RF transceiver with a fully integrated, ultralow power on-chip digital pre-distortion actuator and adaptation engine to linearize power amplifier output for small cell and massive MIMO applications. The on-chip DPD alters the output waveform to account for nonlinearities in the PA and linearize its output, and it’s optimized for small cell PAs up to 10 W with a maximum 40 MHz bandwidth. The AD9375 supports both FDD and TDD applications
Tomi Engdahl says:
FinFETs Shimmy to 5G’s Frequencies
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/devices/finfets-shimmy-to-5gs-frequencies
Engineers make the fins of 14-nanometer FinFETs acoustically resonate to forge the building block of 5G oscillators, filters, and processor clocks
Tomi Engdahl says:
System-Level Simulation Of Technologies Supporting Enhanced Spectral Efficiency For 5G New Radio
https://semiengineering.com/system-level-simulation-of-technologies-supporting-enhanced-spectral-efficiency-for-5g-new-radio/
What does the ideal waveform for 5G communications look like?
5G New Radio (5G NR) is the wireless standard defining the next generation of mobile networks. 5G will offer higher capacity than current 4G, enabling a higher density of mobile broadband users and supporting device-to-device and massive-machine communications. 5G research and development will support lower latency, improved reliability, and lower battery consumption for implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT), a network of devices, vehicles, home appliances, and more that will connect and exchange data.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CommScope launches ‘Era’, all-digital C-RAN antenna system streamlines 5G in-building wireless deployments via baseband centralization, virtualization
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/02/commscope-launches-era-all-digital-c-ran-antenna-system-streamlines-5g-in-building-wireless-deployme.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-02-19&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2008194
CommScope Era, the company’s just-launched next generation in-building wireless platform, is an all-digital C-RAN antenna system designed to leverage wireless operators’ initiatives to centralize and virtualize baseband radio assets. Intended as a foundational design concept for 5G networks, CommScope says the Era system “enables operators to deploy a centralized headend that serves multiple buildings, or even to tap capacity from the operator’s existing C-RAN hubs.”
Per a company press release, “Era enables operators to deploy a centralized headend that serves multiple buildings, or even to tap capacity from the operator’s existing centralized radio access network (C-RAN) hubs. Era’s innovative Wide-area Integration Node (WIN) resides in the C-RAN hub and routes baseband capacity to a distribution point within the served building or campus. Era allocates baseband capacity where it is needed while reducing the amount of onsite head-end equipment and the amount of fiber needed for signal transport by up to 90 percent.”
“CommScope Era will be a key enabler for network densification in LTE Advanced, Gigabit LTE and 5G.”
“Era’s all-digital architecture enables capabilities that analog DAS simply cannot. Capacity re-allocation, soft re-sectorization, system setup and diagnostics are all software functions in Era, capable of being changed with a few clicks of a mouse. Era also transports Gigabit Ethernet backhaul to each remote node, which can be used for separate Wi-Fi networks, IP security systems or to support a small cell overlay needed for future network expansion.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ciena introduces 5G network capabilities enabling operators to scale current 4G networks
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/02/ciena-introduces-5g-network-capabilities-enabling-operators-to-scale-current-4g-networks.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-02-16&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2007705
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) says it has introduced 5G network capabilities to several existing platforms that will enable operators to scale their current 4G networks. The company says its 5G network technology leverages an open, scalable design that enables products that both address stringent 4G and 5G network performance requirements and prepare for evolving demand characteristics.
According to Ciena, 4G and 5G networks will exist side-by-side on the same wireline network infrastructure, between cell sites, as well as to and from data centers, where accessed content is hosted. Reliability, latency, throughput, and security requirements will demand more than a basic network upgrade or expansion as mobile broadband and IoT traffic develops on these networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> Community > Blogs > 5G Waves
Hybrid beamforming for 5G MIMO arrays
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460321/Hybrid-beamforming-for-5G-MIMO-arrays
All 5G systems networks are going to use MIMO (massive input, massive output) antenna arrays and beamforming. Many 5G systems will operate in millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum. Designing MIMO arrays that operate at millimeter wave frequencies is challenging for multiple reasons. System-level design is going to be the best approach for meeting those challenges.
Millimeter wave signals have difficult propagation conditions and greater path loss. 5G networks will need to maintain maximum system flexibility in multiuser applications.
The need for hybrid beamforming
The main objective of a hybrid beamforming design is an architecture that is properly partitioned between the RF and digital domains. The design also includes the sets of precoding weights and RF phase shifts needed to meet the design goal of improving virtual connections between the base station and the user equipment (UE).
From a system standpoint, the balance comes in finding optimal partitioning between RF and digital beamforming. Partitioning is possible, and engineers can efficiently build a system without implementing an individual mapping between the MIMO array elements and the transmit/receive (T/R) signal chains. Sufficient flexibility can still be achieved to satisfy a multiuser scenario.
One of the advantages of moving to mmWave frequencies is that antenna element sizes scale with wavelength. This approach enables a very large number of elements in a reasonable physical size.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything You Need to Know About 5G
https://spectrum.ieee.org/video/telecom/wireless/everything-you-need-to-know-about-5g
Millimeter waves, massive MIMO, full duplex, beamforming, and small cells are just a few of the technologies that could enable ultrafast 5G networks
Tomi Engdahl says:
300MHz to 9GHz High Linearity I/Q Demodulator
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/300mhz-to-9ghz-high-linearity-i-q-demodulator
Analog Devices announces LTC5594, a wideband, high linearity true zero-IF (ZIF) demodulator with 1GHz instantaneous I and Q 1dB bandwidth. The demodulator is capable of 37dB image rejection typical. Using the on-chip serial port, the device allows correction of the I and Q phase and amplitude imbalance, hence can be tuned to achieve an image rejection of better than 60dB. This feature greatly eases calibration while significantly improving receiver performance and reducing FPGA resources needed to null the residual image. In addition, the device has integrated baseband amplifiers with adjustable gain, providing a maximum power conversion gain of 9.2dB at 5.8GHz, while delivering 37dBm output IP3 performance. The RF input has an integrated wideband balun transformer, allowing single-ended operation with 50Ω matching from 500MHz to 9GHz.
The same input can be matched at lower frequencies from 300MHz to 500MHz by changing one external matching component value.
Tomi Engdahl says:
On-Board Optics and CFP2 Transceiver Solution for 5G and DCI Applications
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/on-board-optics-and-cfp2-transceiver-solution-for-5g-and-dci-applications
Ranovus Inc. announced the general availability of their 200G On-Board Optics and CFP2 optical transceiver solutions for 5G mobility and data center interconnect (DCI) applications. Ranovus’ product portfolio is based on the company’s innovation in delivering a multi-wavelength Quantum Dot Laser (QDL), Ring Resonator based Silicon Photonic (SiP) modulators, Driver ICs as well as Receiver building blocks. Ranovus’ products are now in lab trials with multiple optical networking equipment vendors for 5G mobility and cloud infrastructure markets.
“Our demonstration will feature transmission of 400Gb/s in an FSP 3000 CloudConnect™ terminal and over 80km of standard single mode fiber utilizing our open line system,” said Christoph Glingener, CTO/COO at ADVA. “In partnership with Ranovus, we have made impressive progress to validate direct detect technology as an effective way for data center operators to lower their cost per bit and improve energy efficiency.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Algorithms to Antenna: Designing an Antenna Array
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/algorithms-antenna-designing-antenna-array?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180222_MWRF-001_439&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15498&utm_medium=email&elq2=12aa2060d2764b949320278230c2b65c
Part 4 dives into antenna-array design, which can be accomplished by utilizing either measured or simulated antenna-element patterns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hybrid beamforming for 5G MIMO arrays
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460321/Hybrid-beamforming-for-5G-MIMO-arrays?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ceva Uses Machine Learning to Bolster Wireless Modems
http://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/ceva-uses-machine-learning-bolster-wireless-modems
To increase the throughput of wireless networks, companies are expanding into higher spectrum bands than ever before to connect everything from smartphones to cars to the internet. The problem is that these millimeter waves can be blocked by buildings and trees and absorbed by oxygen over long distances.
The solution is to use beamforming to steer antenna beams around obstacles. The technology measures channel state information like phase and gain in specific slices of spectrum. But instead of using traditional software to adapt transmissions to the channel conditions, several companies are looking into machine learning.
Among them is Ceva, a chip designer that licenses digital signal processors that convert everything from voices to wireless signals into digital data. The company recently said that it had designed a custom accelerator that can be embedded in 5G modems to enable advanced beamforming and link adaptation.
The custom processor is one of the building blocks of the company’s new PentaG platform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The first movable chamber for testing 5G antennas
The Rohde & Schwarz presented a new antennas testing system at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. With R & S ATS1000, product developers and production engineers can perform 5G OTA measurements for antenna modules, receivers, chipsets and wireless devices. Antennae and receiver measurements are possible in the 18-87 gigahertz range.
The R & S ATS1000 test system consists of a rack-sized wheeled, protected RF test chamber with platforms for testable devices and sensors, and a broadband measurement antenna covering the entire frequency range. When using the system test and measurement equipment and the R & S AMS32 antenna software, the radiation patterns of the 5G antenna array can be measured accurately in just a few minutes.
The tested device can be precisely aligned with the positioning laser. All of these things together make the R & S ATS1000 antenna testing system the ideal test environment for quick and accurate repeatable measurements.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7651&via=n&datum=2018-03-02_15:11:35&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia announced fairly a month ago that it will launch a new base station processor that will bring significantly more performance to future 5G base stations. It has now become clear that the DSP part of the ReefShark circuit will come from Nokia, which previously supplied the DSP processor for mobile phones.
Nokia has not previously opened the circuit of the circuit, but now there is an exception to ReefShark and Ceva. The base station processor’s data processing performance is based on Cevan’s XC architecture. For base station use, a customized version of architecture has been made.
Ceva and Nokia are old acquaintances. About 10 years ago, Nokia decided in its mobile phone design to expand the range of baseband suppliers. Before Nokia was almost exclusively protected by Texas Instruments’ OMAP chipsets, then Broadcom, Infineon and VIA Telecom were among the suppliers.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7647&via=n&datum=2018-03-02_15:11:35&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
300MHz to 9GHz High Linearity I/Q Demodulator
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/300mhz-to-9ghz-high-linearity-i-q-demodulator
Analog Devices announces LTC5594, a wideband, high linearity true zero-IF (ZIF) demodulator with 1GHz instantaneous I and Q 1dB bandwidth. The demodulator is capable of 37dB image rejection typical. Using the on-chip serial port, the device allows correction of the I and Q phase and amplitude imbalance, hence can be tuned to achieve an image rejection of better than 60dB. This feature greatly eases calibration while significantly improving receiver performance and reducing FPGA resources needed to null the residual image. In addition, the device has integrated baseband amplifiers with adjustable gain, providing a maximum power conversion gain of 9.2dB at 5.8GHz, while delivering 37dBm output IP3 performance. The RF input has an integrated wideband balun transformer, allowing single-ended operation with 50Ω matching from 500MHz to 9GHz. The same input can be matched at lower frequencies from 300MHz to 500MHz by changing one external matching component value. Its high level of integration results in minimum external components and small solution size.
By using the on-chip serial port, all the calibration can be easily set. Besides image rejection, the linearity performance including IP2 (2nd order intercept), HD2 (2nd order harmonic distortion), HD3 (3rd order harmonic distortion), and IIP3 can also be optimized. Moreover, the output DC offset voltage can be nulled via the serial port to allow DC coupling to the ADC for true ZIF operation. Once calibrated at room temperature, these performance metrics are remarkably stable at cold or hot, right up to the rated temperature extremes from -40°C to 105°C case.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NTT develops low-latency PON technology to decrease optical fiber requirements for 5G base station connections
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/02/ntt-develops-low-latency-pon-technology-to-decrease-optical-fiber-requirements-for-5g-base-station-connections.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-03-02&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2022030
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) said it has developed low-latency PON-based optical access technology to decrease the number of optical fibers required for base station connectivity, particularly in 5G networks. Additionally, the Japanese telecommunications company has conducted a feasibility trial in which the optical access system has operated in coordination with a mobile system.
An optical access system is used to connect optical network units (ONUs) at the customer premises to optical line terminals (OLTs) in a telecom office via a fiber to the home (FTTH) network. However, typical PON access systems cannot meet the latency requirements necessary to support mobile systems. NTT says its optical access technology solves this problem. The technology enables OLTs to operate in coordination with the signal control by the base station aggregation unit, thereby reducing latency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MultiPhy aims 100G single-wavelength PAM4 DSP at 5G cloud RAN applications
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/03/multiphy-aims-100g-single-wavelength-pam4-dsp-at-5g-cloud-ran-applications.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_friday_5_2018-03-02&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2022030
MultiPhy Ltd. used Mobile World Congress this week to unveil the MPF3101-SRW, a 100G single-wavelength PAM4 DSP device aimed at 5G cloud radio access network (RAN) applications. The programmable device also supports 25G and 50G transmission rates, making it applicable in a variety of applications, including those where network upgrades are anticipated.
The MPF3101-SRW leverages advanced DSP and mixed-signal technologies which, when combined with PAM4 modulation, enable increased data rates as well as lower power consumption and cost, MultiPhy says. The device will operate in extended temperature range applications and is designed to support QSFP28 form factors. It also supports Option 10 of the CPRI standard.
The company would appear to have at least one customer for the device. “5G wireless deployments present a strong potential opportunity for the entire optical industry,” commented Osa Mok, co-founder and chief marketing officer of InnoLight, via a MultiPhy press release. “InnoLight’s 100G single-wavelength optical modules enabled by MultiPhy’s innovative PAM4 DSP are instrumental in realizing this opportunity in a timely fashion.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
VeEX adds CPRI 10 testing for 24 Gbps FTTA, DAS applications to RXT-6000e, RXT-6200 Universal 100G test modules
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/03/veex-adds-cpri-10-testing-for-24-gbps-ftta-das-applications-to-rxt-6000e-rxt-6200-universal-100g-test-modules.html?cmpid=enl_lightwave_lightwave_service_providers_2018-03-05&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2023381
VeEX Inc. says it offers the ability to verify Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) performance for all CPRI rates from Rate Option 1 (614.4 Mbps) to Rate Option 10 (24.3 Gbps) to CPRI standard specification v7.0. The CPRI Rate Option 10 capabilities are incorporated in the company’s universal RXT-6000e and RXT-6200 Universal 100G test modules to enable a portable tool that enables field technicians to install, troubleshoot, and maintain centralized RAN (C-RAN) infrastructure.
The modules also support link delay measurement, which VeEX identifies as a critical performance parameter for low-latency 4G-LTE and 5G applications.
VeEX points out that the RXT test modules also offer Ethernet and OTN testing up to 112 Gbps to offer complete fronthaul, backhaul, or core transport network testing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ceva Uses Machine Learning to Bolster Wireless Modems
http://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/ceva-uses-machine-learning-bolster-wireless-modems?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180306_MWRF-001_173&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15691&utm_medium=email&elq2=a6094cdfa7f4484794d5d19c49f1105b
To increase the throughput of wireless networks, companies are expanding into higher spectrum bands than ever before to connect everything from smartphones to cars to the internet. The problem is that these millimeter waves can be blocked by buildings and trees and absorbed by oxygen over long distances.
The solution is to use beamforming to steer antenna beams around obstacles. The technology measures channel state information like phase and gain in specific slices of spectrum. But instead of using traditional software to adapt transmissions to the channel conditions, several companies are looking into machine learning.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G: The road to low latency
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460346/5G–The-road-to-low-latency
Technologies established in Release 15 thus far include:
scalable OFDM-based air interface – supports diverse spectrum
slot-based framework – enables low latency
advanced channel coding – supports large data blocks
massive MIMO – for increased coverage, capacity
mobile millimeter wave (mmWave) – for increased capacity, throughput
Tomi Engdahl says:
5G to Alter RF Front-End Landscape
Who’s who in RF & how they will be affected
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333076
While the mobile industry is done with its annual Mobile World lovefest — held last month in Barcelona — tech suppliers, system OEMs and mobile operators now face a host of 5G obstacles not yet overcome. In fact, they’re just getting started.
The technical issues of 5G are manifold. Among them, smart antennas and RF front-ends for 5G mmWave — typically expected to operate at frequencies such as 28 GHz, 39 GHz or 60 GHz — could seriously affect the performance of yet-to-emerge 5G mmWave mobile phones.
“Although many companies such as Qualcomm, Intel, MediaTek and Samsung are using a mobile phone as a 5G mmWave demonstrator platform, we don’t believe handsets will be the first place where 5G mmWave will go.” Rather, 5G mmWave will be a stationary data modem sitting on a table or desk so that consumers can download or stream massive broadband applications, she suspected.
Why so?
Given that 5G’s mmWave frequency bands are notorious for high propagation loss, directivity, and sensitivity to blockage, it’s no small feat to design a 5G handset that works all the time without losing signals. Picture consumers might well be forced to stay — literally — on their toes, turning and pacing in search of a signal.
Another challenge in deploying 5G mmWave radio in mobile handsets is battery life and death.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7702-massiiviselle-mimolle-ei-ole-teoreettista-rajaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hybrid Beamforming for Massive MIMO Phased Array Systems
https://se.mathworks.com/campaigns/products/ppc/facebook/hybrid-beamforming-white-paper.html?s_eid=PSB_6087050144805&placement=fb&position=Facebook_Mobile_Feed
This white paper illustrates a process to design hybrid beamforming in massive MIMO antenna arrays for 5G, using features available with MATLAB® and Simulink®.
Taking a 64 x 64 element, 66 GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) design as an example, we show a strategy to model antenna arrays and partition beamforming operations between the digital and RF domains
Tomi Engdahl says:
New System Design Tools a Must for 5G RF Front-Ends
5G networks will pose challenges to RF front-end (RFFE) design in mobile devices.
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/new-system-design-tools-must-5g-rf-front-ends?PK=UM_Classics03118&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15951&utm_medium=email&elq2=63607c89e6c34c64a9b8f443125641d7
5G RAN
The 5G radio access network (RAN) is expected to be a combination of technologies, nodes, and frequencies, and this mix will result in one of the biggest challenges for 5G deployment. Densification of the network will require:
New models that make deployment economically viable. Planning for 5G deployment will be extremely difficult, and the large number of nodes will make non-optimum sites the norm. Increasingly, deployments will include shared equipment between carriers.
Dynamic and adaptable allocation of resources to maximize performance, increasing automated software control. This will include interference coordination and capacity allocation, even in unplanned and chaotic environments. Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) will be required for efficient spectrum usage. Accurate channel state information will be critical to the correct allocation of resources.
Multiple and dynamic use of different modulation schemes. The diversity of use cases in 5G, well beyond those requiring high-speed data (4G), will be the driver of a wide range of modulation schemes.
Device-to-device communication facilitating network capacity off-load. Network architecture will have to be optimized to incorporate security, off-load potential, privacy, use of the network for acquisition and connection maintenance, and additional UE capability.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Renesas RV2X6376A Laser Diodes for 5G LTE Base Stations and Server Racks
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/renesas-rv2x6376a-laser-diodes-for-5g-lte-base-stations-and-server-racks
Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the RV2X6376A Series of directly modulated laser (DML) diodes. The DML diodes deliver 25 Gbps x four wavelengths as the light source in 100 Gbps optical transceivers that enable high-speed communications inside 4.9G and 5G LTE base stations, and between data center routers and servers. The RV2X6376A Series are the industry’s first DML diodes that support full 25 Gbps speed (per individual laser) and industrial temperature (-40°C to 95°C) without cooling.
The RV2X6376A Series are designed into compact 100 Gbps QSFP28 optical transceiver modules that use conventional NRZ modulation. They are compatible with the Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM4) standard that specifies four lanes of 25 Gbps optically multiplexed onto and demultiplexed from duplex single mode fiber. The RV2X6376A Series extend the laser diodes family, joining the proven, commercial temperature grade (-5°C to 75°C) NX6375AA Series used in data centers.
Mobile communications and the Internet of Things (IoT) are driving high-speed optical communication systems, which are experiencing rapid growth due to an explosion of data usage. The Cisco® Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecasts global mobile data traffic to grow 44 percent annually from 11,000 Petabytes/month in 2017 to 48,000 Petabytes/month in 2021. To service this hyper-growth, base station manufacturers are transitioning to interim 4.9G and higher throughput, low-latency 5G technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MIMO and beamforming: Papers tell the story
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/rowe-s-and-columns/4460451/MIMO-and-beamforming–Papers-tell-the-story
If you’re not currently designing multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas or beamforming systems but would like to get your feet wet, you can find many papers on the topic. An email from IEEE pointed me to “Antenna Array Testing – Conducted and Over the Air: The Way to 5G,” a white paper from Rohde & Schwarz. Always looking to learn more or reinforce my knowledge of 5G, I registered and downloaded the paper.
The paper provides a good overview of MIMO testing, which is a complex topic. What surprised me, however, was that IEEE would send an e-mail about a paper that also mentions specific products. I would expect that from other sources including our own TechOnline, but not from IEEE. I get daily emails from IEEE, some of which provide links to technical papers that you might expect to find at a conference or in IEEE Transactions.
The bulk of the paper (section 4) covers over-the-air (OTA) testing and why it’s needed. Having the brief explanation of analog and digital beamforming helped to clarify why OTA testing is required and why cabled testing won’t work for 5G.
OTA testing, based on 3GPP releases 13 and 14, describes near-field and far-field testing. Base stations may be tested in the near field, with far-field properties calculated from near-field measurements. For user equipment (UE) such as handsets, far-field measurements can be made in a small chamber because of the UE’s small size. The paper discusses test techniques for measuring field strength of individual beams.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Plastic-Packaged MMIC PAs May be Essential for 5G MIMO Base Stations
http://www.mwrf.com/components/why-plastic-packaged-mmic-pas-may-be-essential-5g-mimo-base-stations?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180327_MWRF-001_58&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=16210&utm_medium=email&elq2=775605bf3d054323bfedf9716e7c4612
The introduction of 5G networks will bring higher mobile data rates to more users at once than has previously been possible. Finding the bandwidth to make this a reality will require the industry to meet a number of technical challenges.
Operators will need to move to carrier frequencies above 2.7 GHz to access more spectrum. Multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays will be utilized in 5G networks to deliver high data rates to multiple users in dense urban areas. The data rates promised by 5G will also require large instantaneous-signal bandwidths (more than 200 MHz) and the use of more complex modulation schemes.
These challenges will drive demand for small, low-power, efficient, and cost-effective power amplifiers (PAs) that can be used in 64- or even 128-way MIMO antennas. The increased complexity of the modulation schemes used in 5G will also demand that PAs remain highly efficient—even under deep output power back-off (OBO) conditions of more than 8 dB.
The authors have been working to address these issues, demonstrated by the construction of an ultra-compact 3.5-GHz GaN Doherty PA that can be integrated into a cost-effective QFN plastic package. We used a two-stage GaN core PA monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). Area-consuming passive networks on integrated passive devices (IPDs) were implemented in the same package.
The Technology Platform
The PAs are 28-V GaN MMICs that are built using a 0.25-μm gate-length GaN-on-silicon-carbide (GaN-on-SiC) technology. We chose a 28-V gallium-arsenide (GaAs) process to build the IPDs, mainly because its thick low-loss metal layer stack enables us to build high-performance inductors with quality factors (Qs) of 40 at 3.5 GHz.
The two types of die are assembled in a 7-×-7-mm QFN plastic over-molded package.
This article breaks down two new highly integrated Doherty PA designs that could have a major impact on 5G applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using the LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite to Increase Spectral Efficiency for Wireless Communication
https://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/using-the-labview-communications-system-design-suite-to-increase-spectral-efficiency-for-wireless-communication
Tomi Engdahl says:
Radio Over Fiber Paves Way for Future 5G Networks
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333178
A manufacturer of III-V photonic devices claims to have proven the feasibility of 60-GHz radio over fiber (ROF) transmission at a 1,270-nm wavelength, paving the way to potential solutions for 5G networks.
CST Global, a Scotland-based subsidiary of Sivers IMA Holdings AB in Kista, Sweden, carried out the feasibility study as part of an EU Horizon 2020 research project. The project, iBROW (innovative ultra-broadband ubiquitous wireless communications through tera-hertz transceivers), was led by the University of Glasgow and managed within CST Global by research engineer Horacio Cantu.
The company says that ROF networks are emerging as a completely new and promising communication paradigm for delivering broadband wireless access services and fronthaul at 60 GHz, relying on the synergy between fixed optical and millimeter-wave technologies. ROF technology enables RF signals to be transported over fiber across kilometers and can be engineered for unity gain RF links. Hence, it is thought that it could do a lot to ease spectrum constraints, and it can replace multiple coax cables with a single fiber-optic cable. Among several benefits, ROF could also enhance cell coverage.
ROF requires light to be modulated with radio data for optical transmission. It offers a huge bandwidth increase over existing solutions and requires no digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), resulting in a low-latency solution.
The aim of the EU’s iBROW project is to develop a novel, energy-efficient, and compact ultra-broadband short-range wireless communication transceiver technology, seamlessly interfaced with optical fiber networks and capable of addressing future network needs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Role Will Millimeter Waves Play in 5G Wireless Systems?
http://www.mwrf.com/systems/what-role-will-millimeter-waves-play-5g-wireless-systems?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180417_MWRF-001_62&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=16728&utm_medium=email&elq2=ca7fda45ef5e4d66ae0b197805abfcf7
5G will bring mobility to mmWave communications as the next-gen wireless network attempts to serve more people and even things with a major expansion of mobile services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CableLabs eyes latency-tolerant mobile fronthaul
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2018/04/cablelabs-eyes-latency-tolerant-mobile-fronthaul.html?cmpid=enl_btr_docsis_31_2018-04-18&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24
The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) recently has released a white paper detailing the milestones that have been reached regarding a vRAN (virtual radio access network) mobile fronthaul interface developed with the participation of CableLabs.
TIP, an offshoot of the Open Compute Project, was founded by Deutsche Telecom, Facebook, Intel, SK Telecom and Nokia in 2016. It is now run by a board of directors, with CableLabs running a TIP Community Lab.
A prototype solution has been running since August, and the TIP Community Lab officially opened in November. The project has been approved to move from Phase 0 to Phase 1, which means the move from prototype to commercial-ready, field trial-ready solutions, said Joey Padden, principal architect, wireless, CableLabs. By the fall, deployable remote radios should be ready along with deployment grade virtualized baseband units (the section that runs in the cloud).
“We are gearing up for field trials for roughly the end of the year, but (if not, then) early next year,” Padden said.
What does this mean? vRAN uses the same concepts as remote PHY DOCSIS, but applied to LTE, Padden said. The traditional LTE base station is split and has a cloud portion that could run on the same server that is running your virtualized CCAP. The connection in between this baseband unit and the remote radio is called the fronthaul link.
The traditional fronthaul protocol requires extremely low latency on the order of microseconds, but the TIP fronthaul group is working on a protocol that can tolerate latency of up to 30 milliseconds. “This is multiple orders of magnitude than traditional front haul solutions,” Padden said.
Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), for example, requires something on the order of 260 microseconds of latency at the most. DOCSIS networks usually have latency of somewhere between 10 milliseconds and 20 milliseconds, which basically rules out using CPRI over DOCSIS, Padden said.
“The protocol that we are creating can equally serve a massive MIMO 5G microcell connected over a dedicated fiber link just as the same fronthaul protocol can serve a small cell deployed in the customer’s living room over DOCSIS. The whole premise of virtualizing technologies is to get the economies of scale,” Padden said.
“We are creating a protocol that is robust against DOCSIS-friendly loss latency and throughput,”
Non-ideal refers to 3GPP language which defines “ideal” fiber connections as those with latency less than 2.5 milliseconds and throughput up to 10 Gbps.