MM-wave short range outdoor links with phased arrays

In this paper we evaluate the feasibility of short range outdoor mm-wave links in the 70 GHz portion of the E-band (71-76 GHz). We use phased arrays in order to strongly reduce the impact of the multipath components, thus making the channel mainly line-of-sight (LOS). We design the phased array using a simple patch as a single element, and we test the performances for a 200 m link. We also show that the beamforming capabilities make the design much more flexible than single reflector antenna systems. In the last part of the paper, we verify that our antenna can also operate in rainy conditions and longer ranges.