mm Wave UE Antenna Configuration Study

Millimeter wave (mm wave) communication has emerged as a promising component of 5G cellular systems. The large losses in the Friis equation (due to the implied small apertures of mm wave antennas) suggest that high gain antennas are required. The high gain also implies steerability is required. Arrays of patch antennas are one possible low cost solution, but each array has a limited angular field of view. Multiple arrays per node can be used to improve the field of view. Choosing the correct antenna configuration requires a complex cost-benefit analysis and performance-complexity tradeoff. In this paper, we investigate these tradeoffs through system simulations. Our study uses ray tracing in 3D deployment scenarios and realistic patch antenna array models. MATLAB-based system simulation results are provided, and conclusions are drawn to provide insight into the performance vs. antenna complexity of a mm wave based system. Some of the key conclusions are: diminishing returns on performance as the number of arrays are increased, and the fact that a smaller number of larger arrays can outperform a larger number of smaller arrays. Iso-element curves are also presented as another way to perform a cost-benefit analysis.