NeTS: Medium: Reconfigurable Antennas and Optimized Multi-channel MIMO Designs for DSA Systems with a Broad Frequency Coverage

在移动视频流量的主导下，无线数据的指数增长对射频(RF)频谱提出了严格的要求。最近，美国总统科学技术顾问委员会(PCAST)的报告强调了频谱作为关键经济增长引擎的作用，该报告建议建立“第一条共享频谱高速公路”。FCC已经启动了几项倡议，旨在确定未充分利用的许可频谱部分，并探索不同类型用户之间共享频谱的新模式。在这个项目中，私人投资促进机构建议探讨在大范围频谱上进行动态频谱存取(DSA)操作的可行性，包括TV White Space(470-698 MHz段)的超高频部分、3.5 GHz雷达频段，以及1至4.4 GHz范围内可能成为DSA操作候选频段的其他频段。如果成功，该项目有望对许多无线通信系统产生革命性的影响，包括扩展范围的无线局域网、区域无线局域网、无线传感器系统以及共存的蜂窝/无线局域网系统(例如，LTE-U和WiFi)。研究议程包括可在该频率范围内工作的小尺寸可重构天线单元的新颖设计、用于UHF TVWS段可调窄带载波聚合的先进天线电路配置、在基于MIMO的DSA中支持极化分集的天线配置、基于博弈论技术的优化基于价格的认知MIMO(CMIMO)预编码器，以及用于全网络CMIMO操作的调度机制。将在信号级别(通过MIMO预编码矩阵)以及天线级别(通过高度可调的小型可重新配置天线)进行优化。该项目还包括一项全面的教育计划，以进一步扩大其影响，包括将研究与本科生和研究生教育结合起来，面向少数群体和代表性不足的学生进行招聘和推广，为本科生提供研究经验，通过开放获取传播研究数据和研究结果，以及通过开放实验室日和其他活动向社会推广。

Dominated by mobile video traffic, the exponential growth of wireless data is placing severe demand on the radio frequence (RF) spectrum. The role of spectrum as a critical economic growth engine was recently highlighted in the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report, which recommended creating 'the first shared-use spectrum superhighways.' The FCC has set in motion several initiatives that aim at identifying underutilized portions of the licensed spectrum and exploring new models for spectrum sharing among different types of users. In this project, the PIs propose to address the feasibility of dynamic spectrum access (DSA) operation over a large swath of the spectrum, encompassing the UHF portion of the TV White Spaces (470-698 MHz segment), the 3.5 GHz radar band, as well as other bands in the 1 to 4.4 GHz range that may later become candidates for DSA operation. If successful, this project is expected to have a transformational impact on many wireless communication systems, including extended-range wireless LANs, regional wireless area networks, wireless sensor systems, and coexisting cellular/WLAN systems (e.g., LTE-U and WiFi).The research agenda includes novel designs for a small form-factor reconfigurable antenna element that can operate over this frequency range, advanced antenna-circuit configurations for tunable narrowband carrier aggregation in the UHF TVWS segment, antenna configurations for supporting polarization diversity in MIMO-based DSA, optimized price-based cognitive MIMO (CMIMO) precoders that are founded in game theoretic techniques, and scheduling mechanisms for network-wide CMIMO operation. Optimizations at both the signal level (via MIMO precoding matrices) as well as the antenna level (via highly tunable small form-factor reconfigurable antennas) will be performed. The project also includes a comprehensive educational plan to further broaden its impact, including integrating research with undergraduate and graduate education, recruiting and outreach to minority and under-represented students, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), disseminating research data and findings through open access, and outreach to society through open-lab days and other activities.