论文标题
MMWALL:MMWave网络的转化超材料表面
mmWall: A Transflective Metamaterial Surface for mmWave Networks
论文作者
论文摘要
移动运营商有望随着5G的发展利用毫米波技术,但是尽管努力在室内和室外增强其可靠性,但MMWave链接仍然容易受到墙壁,人员和障碍的阻塞。此外,人们对将室外MMWave覆盖范围置于室内有很大的兴趣,由于类似的原因,今天仍然具有挑战性。本文介绍了MMWALL的设计,硬件实现和实验评估,这是第一个电子上几乎可以使用24 GHz以上运行的超材料表面,并且折射或反映了传入的MMWave传播。我们的超材料设计由变量分解环的谐振单元细胞组成,用于MMWave。自定义控制电路驱动每个谐振器,克服大规模出现的耦合挑战。利用光束转向算法,我们将MMWALL集成到公共MMWAVE网络的链接层发现协议中。我们已经制造了10厘米乘20厘米的MMWALL原型,该原型由28 x 76个单元阵列组成,并在室内,室外到室内和多光束方案进行评估。在室内,MMWALL保证了91%的在128 QAM MMWAVE数据速率下无故障的位置,并将SNR提高到15 dB。 MMWALL在户外,将完全连接失败的可能性降低了40%以下的40%路径阻塞,并将SNR提高到30 dB。
Mobile operators are poised to leverage millimeter wave technology as 5G evolves, but despite efforts to bolster their reliability indoors and outdoors, mmWave links remain vulnerable to blockage by walls, people, and obstacles. Further, there is significant interest in bringing outdoor mmWave coverage indoors, which for similar reasons remains challenging today. This paper presents the design, hardware implementation, and experimental evaluation of mmWall, the first electronically almost-360 degree steerable metamaterial surface that operates above 24 GHz and both refracts or reflects incoming mmWave transmissions. Our metamaterial design consists of arrays of varactor-split ring resonator unit cells, miniaturized for mmWave. Custom control circuitry drives each resonator, overcoming coupling challenges that arise at scale. Leveraging beam steering algorithms, we integrate mmWall into the link layer discovery protocols of common mmWave networks. We have fabricated a 10 cm by 20 cm mmWall prototype consisting of a 28 by 76 unit cell array, and evaluate in indoor, outdoor-to-indoor, and multi-beam scenarios. Indoors, mmWall guarantees 91% of locations outage-free under 128-QAM mmWave data rates and boosts SNR by up to 15 dB. Outdoors, mmWall reduces the probability of complete link failure by a ratio of up to 40% under 0-80% path blockage and boosts SNR by up to 30 dB.