Advanced Millimetre-Wave Components for Beyond-5G Applications

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Traditionally, millimetre-wave (mm-wave) components formed a niche market serving radio astronomy, aerospace, satellite and military industries. This changed dramatically with the emergence of 5G, proposed to operate at frequencies between 28 GHz and 80 GHz. While precise global spectrum allocations remain unclear, the US is moving towards 28, 37 and 39 GHz carriers. Therefore, experts predict that the mm-wave technology market will grow more than ten times over the next five years, developing into a multi-billion-dollar industry. The implementation of next-generation 5G mm-wave technology will require thousands of low-power base stations with requirements for massive MIMO antennas, beamforming and full duplex. Therefore, the utilization of traditional mm-wave waveguide components is space- and cost-prohibitive, thus cheaper, mass-producible systems must be deployed. While active, reconfigurable, but non-planar antenna arrays and front-end modules have been developed for 28-30 GHz, planar components and systems up to 60 GHz and above are still in their infancy. Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) technology is a planar multi-layer circuitry that fits the profile for future mm-wave 5G components. It retains the advantages of metal waveguide structures, but is mass-producible and has been applied up to 200 GHz. Therefore, this proposal focuses on the development of mm-wave SIW 5G-and-beyond components where emphasis is especially placed on three aspects: 1) Beamforming; 2) Reconfigurable Frequency-Selective Surfaces; and 3) Active Components/Chip Integration. These objectives cover key areas for future and beyond-5G mm-wave applications. They include: a) Multiple input/multiple output SIW systems whose beam direction, shape and null cannot only be adjusted to predefined specifications but also incorporate filtering capability; b) Reconfigurable frequency-selective surfaces for frequency- and polarization-agile operation that will be combined with SIW technology; c) Integration of SIW technology with active device chips (such as amplifiers and mixers) in GaAs, GaN and CMOS technology. This research will not only assist the Canadian industry to seize competitive ad¬vantage in future 5G wireless millimeter-wave technology, but will also provide the technical and scientific personnel who are absolutely required to hold and improve this advantage. Canada will benefit from new medical devices through sensing and monitoring, increased security and surveillance, faster high-data-rate communications and cloud computing. The proposed projects are challenging, but the applicant and his team have a proven track record of presenting viable technical solutions for challenging topics. Over five years, this research will support six PhD students. All my graduate and undergraduate students have found immediate employment due to their experience with measurement equipment and state-of-the art modeling software which they were trained in during my supervision.