NeTS: SHF: Medium: Collaborative Research: Integrated Design and Optimization of Millimeter-Wave Multi-Beam MIMO Networks for Gigabit Mobile Access

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Wireless technology is heading for a spectrum crunch with the proliferation of data-hungry devices and applications. Millimeter-wave (mmW) technology, operating between 30GHz to 300GHz, is a promising emerging solution that offers orders-of-magnitude larger bandwidth than current systems and efficient spectrum usage through beamforming. While recent research shows the tremendous potential of mmW wireless in realizing unprecedented spectral efficiency, Gigabit rates and low latency, it is tempered by significant theoretical and technological challenges. In particular, the hardware complexity of the antennas and mmW circuits, and the computational complexity of digital processing challenge the current paradigms and require a fresh cross-disciplinary approach for addressing tradeoffs in performance, complexity, and energy consumption. This project is investigating fundamental tradeoffs in the design of wideband mmW wireless networks through an integrated framework spanning communication and signal processing techniques, hardware design, and networking protocols. The four-investigator research team is uniquely qualified to undertake this research due to their complementary expertise. The project is supporting six graduate students, and broadening participation in cutting-edge research to undergraduates and underrepresented groups through curriculum development and outreach efforts. Industrial relationships are informing research, providing opportunities for students, and facilitating technology transfer. A new cross-domain framework is being developed for integrated design of scalable mmW multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) networks that employ multi-antenna arrays for multi-beam multiuser communication. The research spans communication theory and signal processing, mmW hardware and data converter design, networking protocols, and experimental validation with a state-of-the-art testbed. The research is anchored on four goals: 1) Development of a multi-beam MIMO network architecture and communication/signal processing techniques for mobile access; 2) Investigation of a scalable and reconfigurable slice-based mmW transceiver design for multi-beam MIMO; 3) Investigation of medium access control and higher layer protocols to address mmW propagation challenges and to fully exploit the advanced physical layer capabilities; and 4) Integrated system modeling and assessment for performance-complexity-energy optimization and experimental validation. Several key operational requirements are being investigated, including multi-beam forming and data multiplexing, dynamic beam-frequency allocation and carrier aggregation, dynamic hardware reconfigurability, and flexible networking protocols for diverse use cases. The research results are expected to: i) advance the state-of-the-art of basic theory and design strategies for mmW wireless; ii) act as a catalyst for cross-disciplinary design and analysis of mmW wireless networks, and iii) lead to a deeper fundamental understanding and design methodologies which could impact other applications including imaging, sensing and radar.