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Wireless Broadband Communications

In order to meet the growing demand for data rates, it is necessary to increase the spectral transmission efficiency and use further spectral ranges, e.g. in the millimeter-wave band and in the D band (~140 GHz).

In particular, beam shaping and MIMO techniques are in the focus of research and development. Beamforming allows longer ranges for wireless communication and the reduction of interference and shadowing effects. Due to the small wavelength, the size of the required antenna array can be kept small. Furthermore, the environmental impact of electromagnetic waves is reduced and energy efficiency is increased. These techniques are required and used, e.g.  for the realization of 5G networks and are the foundations of further developments towards 6G technology.

Main targets

  • PHY and MAC development for Gigabit WLAN and WPAN
  • millimeter-Wave (mm-Wave) backhaul networks and fronthaul networks
  • hybrid-beamforming und MIMO-techniques for increased spectral efficiency
  • precise ranging, localization and in-door positioning
  • industrial high QoS WLAN with low latency for Tactile Internet Applications

Research topics

  • communication systems with highest data rates
  • 5G and 6G communication systems
  • signal processing, beamforming and MIMO
  • latency and safety critical WLAN systems
  • system solutions for localization and distance determination

The growing need for wireless transfer rates of several Gigabits per second creates big technical challenges. It can be tackled by increasing the spectral efficiency of the transmission and by using additional radio spectrum, e.g. in the millimeter-wave (mm-Wave)-band. In particular beamforming and Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) techniques are in the focus of research and development. Beamforming allows reaching a higher distance for wireless communications, and to mitigate the effects of shadowing and interference. Due to the short wavelength, the size of the required phased array antenna can be kept small.

Currently several standardization activities are under way. The 3GPP has released several versions of the 5G standard and first investigations on the 6G standard definition have started. Furthermore, the IEEE802.11ay standard enabling datarates in the range of 100 Gbit/s is close to being finalized. Based on standard IEEE802.11az it enables precise synchronization and is also instrumental for facilitating precise positioning using time-​of-flight (ToF) measurements.

The recent technological developments enable the development of ultra-high data rate communication systems. Therefore, currently there are numerous activities using the 60 GHz band and the D-band (140 GHz) for applications that require ultra-high data rates.

Millimeter Wave and higher frequency systems will allow a quantum leap in reaching significantly higher data rates than feasible with current WLAN technology in the sub-6-GHz frequency bands. This will facilitate new services and user applications, which cannot be made available with present wireless communication technologies.

Another important focus is the integration of ranging and localization in the communication system. The large bandwidth and high-​performance baseband processor units allow very accurate estimation of the distance between transmitter and receiver using time-​of flight measurements. This allows new location based services with extremely little extra cost.

Research results

A mmWave frontend chip-set, supporting beamforming was further improved and is now available in different versions suitable for a range of applications.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Grass

IHP
Im Technologiepark 25
15236 Frankfurt (Oder)
Germany

Phone: +49 335 5625 731 
Send e-mail »

Fig. 1: Beamforming 60-GHz Frontend-Modul with IHP SDR FPGA-platform

In the context of several projects IHP has developed a complete 60 GHz beamforming communications system supporting data rates of 4Gbit/s (Fig.1) . The FPGA-based demonstrator, together with different frontend modules can be used for video streaming as well as data transmission.
Fig. 2: Demonstrator setup for mmWave indoor localization

The demonstrator as shown in Fig. 2 also allows ranging between transmitter and receiver with a precision of about 1 cm.
Fig. 4: 5G Demonstrator at the Humboldt University Berlin during the Festival of Lights in October 2019.

The developed techniques and platforms are the basis for first activities and projects on the development of 6G technologies and standards.
Fig. 3: Experimental results of indoor localization.

The measurement results from experiments on indoor localization shown in Fig. 3 indicate very good agreement between measured positions of a mobile node (MN) in red with the real positions of the MN in blue.

The work on mmWave communication and localization are the basis for various contributions to the developement of the 5G wireless commuications systems. In large field test, together with Franunhofer FOKUS, IHP established a nomadic 5G-Demonstrator at Humboldt-University Berlin in October 2019 during the Festival of Lights. With this, the 5G technology and its functions like edge computing were tested and demonstrated under realistic conditions and with a large number of users. Fig 4.
Fig. 1: Beamforming 60-GHz Frontend-Modul with IHP SDR FPGA-platform

In the context of several projects IHP has developed a complete 60 GHz beamforming communications system supporting data rates of 4Gbit/s (Fig.1) . The FPGA-based demonstrator, together with different frontend modules can be used for video streaming as well as data transmission.
Fig. 2: Demonstrator setup for mmWave indoor localization

The demonstrator as shown in Fig. 2 also allows ranging between transmitter and receiver with a precision of about 1 cm.
Fig. 4: 5G Demonstrator at the Humboldt University Berlin during the Festival of Lights in October 2019.

The developed techniques and platforms are the basis for first activities and projects on the development of 6G technologies and standards.
Fig. 3: Experimental results of indoor localization.

The measurement results from experiments on indoor localization shown in Fig. 3 indicate very good agreement between measured positions of a mobile node (MN) in red with the real positions of the MN in blue.

The work on mmWave communication and localization are the basis for various contributions to the developement of the 5G wireless commuications systems. In large field test, together with Franunhofer FOKUS, IHP established a nomadic 5G-Demonstrator at Humboldt-University Berlin in October 2019 during the Festival of Lights. With this, the 5G technology and its functions like edge computing were tested and demonstrated under realistic conditions and with a large number of users. Fig 4.

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