Key Features and Benefits
MIMO is a key technology to utilize the spectrum efficiency for achieving high throughput, wide-coverage, as well as improving user experiences. The MIMO system equipped much more RF chains and multiple antenna arrays to increase network capacity for large-scale deployment and serve multi-user with beamforming technology. Thanks to TMYTEK mmWave MIMO solution that can quickly transform theories into prototypes. With the flexibility to re-architect the beamformer testbed to form a multiset of array antenna frontend, the solution is capable of large-scale MIMO antenna matrix testbed, and provides an algorithm development platform for beamforming management. The SPI control feature implements the ultra-low-latency beam switching that meets the 3GPP requirement.
Extendable MIMO beamforming frontend system
Quick MIMO prototyping from theory
Flexible multi-channel control and ultra-low-latency beam switching
MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) is a radio technology that is able to achieve higher throughput and link reliability. It utilizes higher spectral efficiency by deploying multiple antennas at both the transmitter and the receiver end, and a multiplex scattering effect that reduces signal fading and improves SNR, especially for mmWave bands communication.
There are two types of MIMOs: the SU-MIMO (Single-User MIMO) can transmit multiple data streams to only one device for increased throughput and reliability, and the MU-MIMO (Multi-User MIMO) can send multiple data streams to multiple devices simultaneously to improve user experiences that offer constant and reliable communication with reduced latency.
Massive MIMO is the expansion and aggregation of RF chains and multiple antenna arrays to maximize the spatial diversity and multiplex usage to transmit multiple independent signals. This approach can dramatically increase the throughput and coverage. The key is to adopt beamforming technology to manage the beam radiating from antenna arrays, it’s able to transmit different beams to different users at the same time.
Beamforming is an advanced antenna technology that tunes the phase and gain to focus the signal in a specific direction. It can improve the range and data rate to different users, and also reduce the interference from non-target areas/ devices at the same time. Beamforming is a crucial technique in enabling Massive MIMO and MU-MIMO.
The mmWave Communication System Architecture
TMYTEK MIMO solution features a flexible design to adapt to different beamforming architectures and provides a development platform for 5G mmWave communication system designers. It fulfills various applications, from small-scale to large complex frontend systems. Adopt multiple beamformer systems could easily build up the MIMO development platform, and the air interface is controllable to radiate the designed beam patterns. The baseband developers can benefit from this MIMO solution as it allows experimenting with advanced beam management algorithms for 5G NR mmWave systems, such as beam steering and beam tracking. In this mmWave communication system, it simply demonstrates the beamforming architecture and MIMO system with different components: TMYTEK MIMO solution plays significant roles as critical components such as the frequency up/down converter - UDBox, Beamformer front end - BBox and array antenna - AAkit.
| MIMO and Beamforming | Data Stream | Digital Processor |  RF Chain |  Splitter Combiner |  PLO+Mixer |  Phase Shifter |  PA / LNA |  Antenna |  Beam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Analog | 1 SISO | 1 | 1T1R | 1 | 1 | Multiple | Multiple | Sub-array | One Beam at a time |
| Fully Digital | Multiple | 1 | Multiple | x | Multiple | x | Multiple | Multiple / Sub-array | Multiple Beam simultaneously |
| Hybrid | Multiple | 1 | Multiple | Multiple | Multiple | x | Multiple | Multiple / Sub-array | Multiple Beam simultaneously |
Analog Beamforming uses the phase-shifter with different antennas to form the antenna array to be able to steer the beam
in different directions with the same signal source.
The advantage of this analog front end is to improve the coverage with multiple relatively low-cost antenna elements but
only adopt a single RF chain. This is normally applied to mmWave small cell deployments in dense areas to cover dead
zones.
Learn more about Products: UDBox & BBox One 5G of 16 antenna elements & BBox Lite 5G of 4 antenna elements
Advanced SPI fast control feature: 3GPP Compliant Beam Switching: Based on SPI Control of BBox
For example: SISO system with 1x4 array antenna
Digital Beamforming is applying the beamforming algorithm in the baseband for digital phase-shifter control, for each individual RF chain, sourced from different signals.
The advantage of the baseband process is that it can enable flexible digital beamforming and benefit MIMO’s usage of spatial multiplexing by multiple RF-Antenna paths. This approach is normally used for indoor RF1 systems with less antennas, due to the cost of much more RF chains.
For example: MIMO system with 4 individual and simultaneously radiation, when the beamforming algorithm applied in baseband, there will form a digital 1x4 array antenna beamforming
Hybrid Beamforming combines the digital and analog beamforming that precodes the multi-stream transmission in the
baseband and forms the radiation pattern transmitted by the antenna array.
This advanced architecture can benefit the cost and energy. It minimizes the RF chain, lowers the total power
consumption and design complexity. It can also be applied to massive MIMO and MU-MIMO that transmit different data
streams and direct the beams to different users, at the same time. The solution is required by FR2 mmWave band
applications.
For example, a 2x2 MIMO hybrid beamforming: 2 UDBox each connected with BBox of 16/4 antenna elements for 4x4:3D/1x4:2D
beamforming.
Learn more：mmWave Beamforming and Massive MIMO
For example: 2x2 MIMO system with two 1x4 subarray antenna
Related Products
BBox One 5G
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