Antenna System Active Echo Cancellation via Digital Beamforming
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of antennas in 5G base stations is hindered by the large circuit board area and volume occupied by circulators, which are necessary to eliminate active echoes caused by insufficient isolation between antennas, and transforming the power amplifier circuit into a balanced circuit doubles the area and costs, preventing further integration.
Innovation Solution
A signal processing method that determines the scattering parameter matrix of passive echoes in an antenna system, identifies virtual user directions where signal strength is highest, and forms a target beam with its null aligned with these directions, reducing active echo generation and allowing for the removal of circulators, thereby reducing the antenna system's volume and enabling further integration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If circulators are added to eliminate active echoes, then active echo elimination is improved, but antenna system volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the circulator component from the antenna system by using signal processing methods to cancel active echoes digitally, thereby reducing the antenna system volume while maintaining echo elimination capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical circulator with a digital signal processing system that uses scattering parameter matrices and beamforming to cancel active echoes, substituting physical components with computational methods
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the power amplifier circuit is transformed into a balanced circuit, then active echo cancellation is improved, but antenna system area doubles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the active echo cancellation function from the power amplifier circuit and implements it through separate signal processing operations using scattering parameter matrices, avoiding the need to transform the PA circuit and thereby maintaining the original antenna system area
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the hardware-based balanced circuit transformation with software-based signal processing methods that compute and apply cancellation signals digitally, avoiding the physical area increase associated with balanced circuit implementation
3Productivity
If the number of antennas is increased for massive MIMO, then communication capacity is improved, but antenna integration becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the active echo management function from physical circulator components and implements it through digital signal processing, thereby reducing the space requirements and enabling higher antenna density for massive MIMO systems
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal signal processing framework that handles active echo cancellation for any number of antennas through scattering parameter matrices and beamforming, making the solution scalable for massive MIMO without proportionally increasing system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
This application provides example signal processing methods, media, and apparatuses. One example method includes obtaining a scattering parameter matrix of passive echoes in an antenna system by a network device. The m virtual user directions are determined by the network device based on the scattering parameter matrix of the passive echoes, where the m virtual user directions are m directions in which total signal strength of the passive echoes is highest, and m is a positive integer. A target beam is formed based on n real user directions and the m virtual user directions, where one or more nulls of the target beam are aligned with the m virtual user directions, n is a positive integer, and n+m≤k.