Zachary Miers

A flexible 100-antenna testbed for Massive MIMO

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is one of the main candidates to be included in the fifth generation (5G) cellular systems. For further system development it is desirable to have real-time testbeds showing possibilities and limitations of the technology. In this paper we describe the Lund University Massive MIMO testbed - LuMaMi. It is a flexible testbed where the base station operates with up to 100 coherent radio-frequency transceiver chains based on software radio technology. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) based signaling is used for each of the 10 simultaneous users served in the 20 MHz bandwidth. Real time MIMO precoding and decoding is distributed across 50 Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGAs with PCI-Express interconnects. The unique features of this system are: (i) high throughput processing of 384 Gbps of real time baseband data in both the transmit and receive directions, (ii) low-latency architecture with channel estimate to precoder turnaround of less than 500 micro seconds, and (iii) a flexible extension up to 128 antennas. We detail the design goals of the testbed, discuss the signaling and system architecture, and show initial measured results for a uplink Massive MIMO over-the-air transmission from four single-antenna UEs to 100 BS antennas.

Design of Bandwidth-Enhanced and Multiband MIMO Antennas Using Characteristic Modes

Recent work has shown that, with the help of the Theory of Characteristic Modes (TCM), minor modifications of the terminal chassis can facilitate the design of orthogonal multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas with viable bandwidth at frequencies below 1 GHz. Herein, a new framework is proposed to further exploit TCM to enhance the performance of the orthogonal MIMO antennas. By correlating the characteristic currents and near fields of modes with high modal significance in a given frequency band, a single feed may be designed to excite multiple modes, leading to enlarged bandwidth. Similarly, the correlation of characteristic currents and near fields across different bands provides candidate modes that can be excited for multiband operation using a single feed. Moreover, the impedance matching of these modes can be improved by additional structural manipulation. As proof of concept, a dual-band (818-896 MHz, 1841-2067 MHz), dual-antenna prototype was designed on a 130 × 66-mm2 chassis for Long Term Evolution (LTE) operation. Full-wave simulation results were experimentally verified with a fabricated prototype.

Generating multiple characteristic modes below 1GHz in small terminals for MIMO antenna design

Designing multiple antennas in small terminals at frequency bands below 1 GHz is challenging due to severe mutual coupling among antenna elements. The severe coupling is often the result of simultaneous excitation of the fundamental characteristic mode of the terminal chassis by more than one antenna element. In this work, we propose to solve the coupling problem by manipulating the chassis structure to allow more than one characteristic mode to resonate at frequencies below 1 GHz. To demonstrate our design concept and its practicality, we show the opportunistic use of the metallic bezel popular in smartphone design for obtaining two characteristic modes that can be efficiently excited by antenna elements at 0.81 GHz. Due to the inherent orthogonality of the modes, proper excitation of these modes by two antenna elements will result in orthogonal radiation patterns and high isolation between the antenna ports. Therefore, the proposed approach enables the effective use of the chassis to achieve MIMO antennas with good performance.

Computational Analysis and Verifications of Characteristic Modes in Real Materials

Despite its long history, the theory of characteristic modes (TCMs) has only been utilized in antenna design for perfect electric conductors (PECs). This is due to computational problems associated with dielectric and magnetic materials. In particular, the symmetric form of the Poggio-Miller-Chan-Harrington-Wu-Tsai (PMCHWT) surface formulation for the method of moments (MoM) solves for both external (real) and internal (nonreal) resonances of a structure. The external resonances are the characteristic modes (CMs), whereas the internal resonances are not. This paper proposes a new postprocessing method capable of providing unique and real CMs in all physical mediums, including lossy magnetic and dielectric materials. The method removes the internal resonances of a structure by defining a minimum radiated power, which is found through utilizing the physical bounds of the structure. The CMs found using the proposed method are verified through the use of an MoM volume formulation, time domain antenna simulations, and experiments involving multiple antenna prototypes.

Wideband Characteristic Mode Tracking Utilizing Far-Field Patterns

The Theory of Characteristic Modes provides a convenient tool for designing multi-antennas for multiple-input multiple-output applications, as it enables orthogonal radiation patterns to be excited in a given antenna structure. Moreover, the frequency behavior of the modes reveals interesting wideband properties of the structure. However, the tracking of characteristic modes over frequency remains a challenge, especially when differences between modes are limited to high currents in small regions of the structure. The common approach of tracking characteristic modes is through correlating the modal currents over frequency, this leads to multiple eigenvalues being mapped to the same eigencurrent. In this letter, we propose a new approach to track characteristic modes by means of cross correlating far-field patterns, which effectively eliminates the mode mapping ambiguity.

Design of multi-antenna feeding for MIMO terminals based on characteristic modes

Conventional antennas in single-antenna terminals that resonate at frequencies lower than 1 GHz usually rely on the chassis as the main radiator. To effectively exploit chassis excitation for MIMO terminals, each of the multiple antennas is required to excite one distinct chassis mode. However, in todays terminals, there is typically only one chassis mode that can radiate efficiently at frequencies below 1 GHz. Fortunately, it has been shown that minor modifications in the chassis structure can cause more than one mode to resonate at these frequencies. Nevertheless, proper antenna feeding methods are needed to practically tap into these modes. In this paper, we propose a general technique to feed orthogonal chassis modes of a given conducting structure using the theory of characteristic modes. By separating a radiating structure into individual modal currents, the near field radiating properties are exploited for capacitive or inductive feeding without significant coupling to other orthogonal modes of radiation. As a proof of concept, we apply the technique to feed a modified terminal chassis that has two significant characteristic modes at 0.89 GHz.

Post-processing removal of non-real characteristic modes via basis function perturbation

For more than 30 years since it was first proposed by Harrington et al., the Theory of Characteristic Mode (TCM) has only been applied to perfect electric conductors (PEC), and more recently lossless dielectric materials. One key challenge in computing the characteristic modes (CMs) of non-PEC materials using the PMCHWT surface integral equation is the presence of internal resonances in the solution space, due to the required forcing of symmetry on the impedance matrix. In lossless dielectrics, it was shown that these non-real CMs can be removed in post-processing through far-field power analysis. However, this method breaks down in lossy materials as it relies on the assumption of no radiation losses. This paper proposes the use of basis function perturbation to isolate the non-real CMs from the real CMs when CM analysis is applied to lossy materials.

On Characteristic Eigenvalues of Complex Media in Surface Integral Formulations

Although the surface integral equations (SIEs) have been extensively used in solving electromagnetic problems of penetrable objects, there are still open issues relating to their application to the Theory of Characteristic Modes (CMs). This letter demonstrates that when an SIE is used to solve for the CMs of a dielectric or magnetic object, the resulting eigenvalues are unrelated to the reactive power of the object, unlike the eigenvalues of perfect electric conductors. However, it is proposed that the classical eigenvalues, which provide useful physical insights, can be extracted from the SIE CM solution using Poyntings theorem. Large discrepancies between the SIE CM eigenvalues and the proposed eigenvalues, as well as the eigenvalue-derived characteristic quantities, are highlighted using a numerical example. The modal resonances, as predicted by the proposed eigenvalues, closely match those obtained for natural resonance modes.

Restoring characteristic eigenvalues as reactive powers for simple and complex media in surface integral formulations

The Theory of Characteristic Modes (TCM) has recently been shown to be beneficial in solving a wide variety of complex electromagnetic problems. However, there are still open issues in using TCM to analyze objects which consist of simple or complex media. Either a volume integral equation (VIE) or a surface integral equation (SIE) is required to solve for the characteristic modes of these objects. Herein, we overview the important issue that the characteristic eigenvalues obtained from SIE formulations are not related to the modal reactive power, unlike the classical TCM definition. A recently proposed solution that restores the modal reactive power interpretation of characteristic eigenvalues is described. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the differences between the SIE eigenvalues and the restored eigenvalues.

Antenna design using characteristic modes for arbitrary materials

Characteristic mode analysis has traditionally been constrained to problems which utilize only perfect electric conductors (PEC). Through forced symmetry of a method of moments surface integral equation and newly proposed post-processing, characteristic modes can be solved for any material in a computationally efficient manner. As an example, the characteristic modes are solved for a mobile terminal consisting of both PEC and dielectric materials.