21.2 A 27-to-41GHz MIMO Receiver with N-Input-N-Output Using Scalable Cascadable Autonomous Array-Based High-Order Spatial Filters for Instinctual Full-FoV Multi-Blocker/Signal Management

Abstract

Rapidly growing deployment of mm-wave links in commercial (e.g., 5G/automotive) and defense (e.g., fast-moving drones) applications often exposes the transceiver (TX/RX) front-ends in complex EM environments with multiple fast-changing yet unknown blockers (Angle-of-Arrival AoA/frequency/modulation). To preserve full field-of-view (FoV) and multi-beam/MIMO operations, digital arrays often skip FoV-limited front-end beamforming and rely on digital backends for spatial filtering [1]. However, the RXs and ADCs need high dynamic range (DR) to handle all the aperture information and avoid array saturation by strong signals/blockers that may hinder digital beamforming [2]. Therefore, to aid digital arrays and reduce RX/ADC DR, there is a critical need for agile spectral-spatial front-end filtering for instinctual blocker suppression and “power-equalizing” of desired signals.