Massive MIMO Composite-Column Beamforming for Higher Gain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Massive MIMO antennas face issues of insufficient gain and beamwidth in 8T8R systems and excessive complexity in 64T64R systems, with 64T64R requiring a large number of power amplifiers and infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves combining subsets of antenna elements into composite columns, using splitter/combiners to align signals, and employing phase compensators to adjust phase differences, thereby increasing the array aperture and narrowing the beamwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If 64T64R antenna elements are used to improve gain and narrow beamwidth, then beamforming performance is improved, but device complexity and infrastructure requirements increase prohibitively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple antenna element columns into composite columns, where subsets of columns are merged to function as unified beamforming units. This merging approach achieves the beamforming performance of a larger array (64T64R) while using fewer physical columns, thereby reducing device complexity and infrastructure requirements while maintaining improved gain and narrow beamwidth.
2Device complexity
If 8T8R antenna elements are used to reduce complexity, then device complexity is reduced, but gain and beamwidth performance become insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces composite columns as an intermediate structural dimension between individual columns and full 64T64R arrays. By organizing antenna elements into composite columns with specific phase relationships, the system achieves enhanced gain performance comparable to larger arrays while maintaining the lower complexity of 8T8R configurations. This dimensional reorganization allows simultaneous achievement of both goals.
Data Source
AI summary
An 8T8R antenna has a plurality of columns of antenna elements whereby a subset of the columns are combined into a plurality of composite columns. In an example, the antenna has six columns of antenna elements whereby the two columns at either end of the array are combined into a composite column. The antenna ports corresponding to the two outer composite columns are coupled to a splitter/combiner that has a power divider and a delay line to provide phase compensation. The antenna also has a phase compensator that provides for phase compensation between the outputs of the splitter/combiners and the antenna ports corresponding to the inner columns that are not combined into composite columns. In a variation, the columns of antenna elements are combined into a plurality of composite columns, each having a pair of columns, whereby the number of columns is twice the number of composite columns.