Collaborative Research: CCSS: Towards Energy-Efficient Millimeter Wave Wireless Networks: A Unified Systems and Circuits Framework

无线通信对经济、教育、卫生、娱乐、物流和旅游等各个领域产生了重大影响。为了满足对更高数据速率和带宽不断增长的需求，第五代（5G）无线网络设想在包括6 GHz以上频率的频谱上进行通信，特别是毫米波（mm-wave）频段。与目前在较低频带中工作的RF（射频）系统相比，在毫米波系统中应用高载波频率允许更大的信道带宽。然而，组成电路和系统组件（如模数转换器（adc）和数模转换器（dac））的能量消耗随着带宽的增加而显著增加。在毫米波多输入多输出（MIMO）系统中，大量的收发天线和大带宽导致了大量的ADC/DAC能量消耗，这与移动设备和小小区接入点有限的能量预算不一致。这表明迫切需要为毫米波收发器设计节能解决方案。该项目通过提出新颖的收发器架构、电路模块和设计技术以及相关的通信策略来解决这些挑战。该项目将把研究与重要的教育和推广计划紧密结合起来，包括两个重点领域：(i)学生培训；（ii）以新课程开发和学生参与的形式传播研究成果。将作出协调一致的努力，扩大代表人数不足社区的妇女和学生对该项目的参与。该项目研究了非线性模拟算子和延迟元件的使用，以减轻毫米波通信系统中的粗量化速率损失，并通过三个相互关联的重点，开发了一个跨学科框架，用于研究节能毫米波通信的理论和实践。第一个重点是发展必要的理论技术来研究通信的基本限制，例如在具有低分辨率ADC/ dac和收发器非线性模拟处理的MIMO系统中可实现的速率。第二部分的重点是节能电路设计和非线性模拟元件和延迟元件的片上实现。特别地，利用晶体管非线性的Volterra-Weiner级数表示来设计非线性模拟算子并分析其性能。第三个推力协调了推力2中开发的电路的实际限制，以及推力1中理论推导中的假设，并提出了实用的、可实现的毫米波通信协议。这包括信道估计、多用户调度和ADC分配机制的设计。提出的研究工作将导致一个统一的框架来研究毫米波收发器的电路设计和实现，以及与收发器电路设计相匹配的多用户波束形成、调度和数据传输机制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Wireless communications has had a major impact on a diverse range of areas such as economy, education, health, entertainment, logistics, and travel. In order to satisfy the ever-growing demand for higher data-rates and bandwidth, the fifth generation (5G) of wireless networks envisions communication in a spectrum which includes frequencies above 6 GHz and especially the millimeter wave (mm-wave) bands. The application of high carrier frequencies in mm-wave systems allows for larger channel bandwidths compared to the current RF (radio frequency) systems which operate in lower frequency bands. However, the energy consumption of constituent circuit and system components such as analog to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analog converters (DACs) increases significantly with bandwidth. The massive number of transceiver antennas and large bandwidth lead to substantial ADC/DAC energy consumption in mm-wave multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems which is inconsistent with the limited energy budget in mobile devices and small-cell access points. This points to an urgent need for energy-aware solutions to mm-wave transceiver design. The project addresses these challenges by proposing novel transceiver architectures, circuit blocks and design techniques, and associated communication strategies. The project will tightly integrate research with a significant education and outreach program consisting of two focus areas: (i) Student training, and (ii) Disseminating research outcomes in the forms of new curricular development and student involvement. A concerted effort will be made to broaden the participation of women and students from under-represented communities in the project.The project investigates the use of nonlinear analog operators and delay elements to mitigate the coarse quantization rate-loss in mm-wave communication systems, and develops an interdisciplinary framework for investigating the theory and practice of energy-efficient mm-wave communication through three interrelated thrusts. The first thrust develops the theoretical techniques necessary to study the fundamental limits of communication, such as achievable rates, in MIMO systems with low resolution ADC/DACs and nonlinear analog processing at the transceivers. The second thrust focuses on energy-efficient circuit design and on-chip implementation of nonlinear analog components and delay elements of Thrust 1. In particular, the Volterra-Weiner series representation of transistor nonlinearity is used to design nonlinear analog operators and analyze their performance. The third thrust reconciles the practical limitations of circuitry developed in Thrust 2, with the assumptions made in the theoretical derivations in Thrust 1, and proposes practical, implementable communication protocols for mm-wave communications. This includes the design of channel estimation, multiuser scheduling, and ADC allocation mechanisms for the proposed communication systems. The proposed research effort leads to a unified framework to study the circuit design and implementation of mm-wave transceivers, along with multiuser beamforming, scheduling, and data transmission mechanisms matched with the transceiver circuit design.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.