Millimeter-Wave Systems for Wireless Communications

我们的社会在通过无线通信网络交换信息方面经历了前所未有的增长。仅这十年就见证了电子邮件、万维网、蜂窝电话、移动计算、电子寻呼机和视频会议的爆炸式发展。毫无疑问，随着我们进入21世纪，这些服务将变得更加流行，但今天的无线通信网络将很快无法处理这些和未来的交互式、宽带、多媒体服务的膨胀带宽需求。毫米波频段（30 - 300千兆赫）显然提供了适应宽带、高速业务的频谱。可实现的传输速率约为5 Gbps，是T3 （45 Mbps）传输速率的100多倍。事实上，这个速率与目前传输大量信息的首选技术光纤的速率是有竞争力的。毫米波网络不仅为高比特率和宽带调制方案提供必要的带宽，而且相关的短波长也意味着更小的天线和电路尺寸，从而为移动通信提供更紧凑的模块。这部分频谱中大气衰减的增加对安全的卫星交叉链路和高容量无线局域网是有用的。在一些国家，这些系统的开发已经在顺利进行。例如，日本开发了用于多媒体分发的60 ghz、155 mbps无线局域网。如果美国想要保持其作为世界高速通信领导者的地位，就必须迅速采取行动。联邦通信委员会已经考虑了高达150千兆赫的频率分配。然而，实现毫米波通信组件在设备、电路、编码、信号处理和网络方面提出了许多技术挑战。在夏威夷大学，工程学院的教员们组成了一个强大的团队，专注于这些领域的无线技术。本提案描述了器件、电路和子系统问题。一个配套提案描述了信号处理和网络问题。这项研究可以为无线通信提供全新一代的毫米波组件。改进的钝化技术有望使电子器件具有低噪声、高可靠性和高击穿电压。革命性的MEMS器件允许更大的功能和卓越的性能。准光反射放大器可用于强大的固态发射机。准光二极管和有源混频器将成为高性能应用所需动态范围的敏感混频器的组成部分。结合MEMS可重构天线和光子晶体的准光学子系统前景广阔。可能的通信应用包括高速移动个人通信系统、无线局域网和紧急救援通信收发器。在对越来越快的数据速率需求的推动下，这些通信应用将继续向毫米波频率发展

9979296DelisioOur society has experienced unprecedented growth in the exchange of information over wireless communication networks. This decade alone has witnessed an explosion in the use of electronic mail, the World Wide Web, cellular telephony, mobile computing, electronic pagers, and video conferencing. These services will undoubtedly become even more popular as we enter the 21St century, but today's wireless communication networks will soon be unable to handle the inflated bandwidth requirements for these and future interactive, broadband, multimedia services.The millimeter-wave band (30 - 300 GHz) clearly offers the spectrum to accommodate broadband, high-speed services. Achievable transmission rates are on the order of 5 Gbps -- more than 100 times the T3 (45 Mbps) transmission rate. In fact, this rate is competitive with that of optical fiber, which is currently the technology of choice to transmit large amounts of information. Millimeter-wave networks not only provide the necessary bandwidth for high bit rates and wide-band modulation schemes, but the associated short wavelengths also imply smaller antenna and circuit size, resulting in more compact modules for mobile communications. The increased atmospheric attenuation in this part of the spectrum is useful for secure satellite cross-links and high-capacity wireless local-area networks.In some nations the development of these systems is already well underway. For example, Japan has developed 60-GHz, 155-Mbps wireless local area networks for multimedia distribution. If the United States is to preserve its role as the world's leader in high-speed communications, it must act quickly. The Federal Communications Commission has considered frequency allocations as high as 150 GHz.Realizing communication components at millimeter wavelengths, however, presents a number of technical challenges in devices, circuits, coding, signal processing, and networks. At the University of Hawaii, faculty members of the College of Engineering have formed a strong team to focus on wireless technology in each of these areas. This proposal describes the device, circuit, and subsystem issues. A companion proposal describes the signal processing and networking issues.This research could enable an entirely new generation of millimeter-wave components for wireless communication. Improved passivation techniques promise electronic devices with low noise, high reliability, and high breakdown voltages. Revolutionary MEMS devices allow greater functionality and superior performance. The quasi-optical reflection amplifiers could be used in powerful solid-state transmitters. Quasi-optical diode and active mixers would be integral components in sensitive mixers with the dynamic range necessary for high-performance applications. Quasi-optical subsystems incorporating MEMS reconfigurable antennas and photonic crystals hold great promise. Possible communication applications include high-speed mobile personal communication systems, wireless local area networks, and emergency relief communications transceivers. Fueled by the demand for faster and faster data rates, these communication applications will continue to evolve toward millimeter-wave frequencies.***