Chapter 12

Antennas

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Summarize the various approaches to compensating for errors and

distortions introduced by multipath fading and other wireless channel
impairments
Understand the principle of operation of a parabolic antenna
Explain antenna gain
Discuss the principles of MIMO antennas
Contrast single-user and multiple-user MIMO
Make a presentation on the concept of beamforming
Explain the key characteristics of active antennas
Understand the distinguishing characteristics of massive MIMO

This chapter provides a survey of antenna technology. To begin, Section

12.1 provides an overview of the various approaches used to compensate
for impairments. The remainder of the chapter discusses issues of an-
tenna design that relate to improving the spectral efficiency of a wireless
channel. Section 12.2 provides an overview of antenna technology.
Sections 12.3 and 12.4 discuss multiple-input/multiple-output antennas, a
technology that is critical to 5G.

12.1 Channel Correction Mechanisms

The efforts to compensate for the errors and distortions introduced by

multipath fading and other wireless channel impairments fall into four
general categories: adaptive equalization, diversity techniques, adaptive
modulation and coding, and forward error correction. In the typical mo-
bile wireless environment, techniques from all four categories are com-
bined to combat the error rates encountered.

Adaptive Equalization

Adaptive equalization can be applied to transmissions that carry analog

information (e.g., analog voice or video) or digital information (e.g., digi-
tal data, digitized voice or video) and is used to combat intersymbol inter-
ference. The process of equalization involves some method of gathering
the dispersed symbol energy back together into its original time interval.
Equalization is a broad topic; techniques include the use of so-called
lumped analog circuits as well as sophisticated digital signal processing
algorithms. Here we look at the digital signal processing approach.

Figure 12.1 illustrates a common approach using a linear equalizer cir-

cuit. In this specific example, for each output symbol, the input signal is
sampled at five uniformly spaced intervals of time, separated by a delay τ.
These samples are individually weighted by the coefficients Ci and then
summed to produce the output. The circuit is referred to as adaptive be-
cause the coefficients are dynamically adjusted. Typically, the coefficients
are set using a training sequence, which is a known sequence of bits. The
training sequence is transmitted. The receiver compares the received
training sequence with the expected training sequence and, on the basis
of the comparison, calculates suitable values for the coefficients.
Periodically, a new training sequence is sent to account for changes in the
transmission environment.
FIGURE 12.1 Linear Equalizer Circuit

For Rayleigh channels or worse, it may be necessary to include a new

training sequence with every single block of data. Again, this represents
considerable overhead, but it is justified by the error rates encountered
in a mobile wireless environment.

Diversity Techniques

Diversity is based on the fact that individual channels experience inde-

pendent fading events. For example, multiple antennas that are spaced
far enough apart will have independent fading. It is therefore possible to
compensate for error effects by providing multiple channels in some
sense between transmitter and receiver, and sending either a duplicate of
the signal over each channel or a part of the signal over each channel.
This technique does not eliminate errors, but it reduces the error rate be-
cause it spreads out the transmission to avoid being subjected to the high-
est error rate that might occur. The other techniques—equalization, cod-
ing, and forward error correction—can then cope with the reduced error
rate.

Space Diversity

Space diversity, or spatial diversity, means using different physical

paths for the signal, at a single frequency. For example, multiple nearby
antennas, if spaced far enough apart, may be used to receive the message
with the signals combined in some fashion to reconstruct the most likely
transmitted signal. Another example is the use of collocated multiple di-
rectional antennas, each oriented to a different reception angle, with the
incoming signals again combined to reconstitute the transmitted signal.
The important case of multiple-input/multiple-output antennas is covered
later in this chapter.
Frequency Diversity

With frequency diversity, the signal is spread out over a larger fre-
quency bandwidth or carried on multiple frequency carriers. The most
important examples of this approach are orthogonal frequency-division
multiplexing (OFDM) and spread spectrum. Traditional communications
—both wireline and wireless—simply modulate a baseband signal up to a
required transmission channel and frequency. No change to the original
signal occurs. Two methods, however, have been used to overcome wire-
less channel impairments in which the signals are significantly modified
for transmission.

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM): OFDM splits

a signal into many lower-bit-rate streams that are transmitted over
carefully spaced frequencies. This can overcome frequency selective
fading by using significantly lower bandwidth per stream with longer
bit times. Each of these frequencies can then be amplified separately.
Various versions of OFDM are important in 4G and 5G. Chapter 13,
“Air Interface Physical Layer,” covers OFDM.
Spread spectrum: This is a technique in which a signal is transmitted
in a bandwidth considerably greater than the frequency content of the
original information. Spread spectrum generally makes use of a se-
quential noise-like signal structure to spread the normally narrow-
band signal over a relatively wide band of frequencies. The receiver
correlates the signals to retrieve the original information signal. This
technique decreases potential interference to other receivers while
achieving data confidentiality and increasing immunity of spread
spectrum receivers to noise and interference. In addition, proper en-
coding enables multiple users to independently use the same higher
bandwidth with very little interference. 2G and 3G systems employ
spread spectrum techniques.

Time Diversity

Time diversity techniques spread out the data over time so that a noise
burst affects fewer bits. Time diversity can be quite effective in a region
of slow fading. If a mobile unit is moving slowly, it may remain in a re-
gion of a high level of fading for a relatively long interval. The result
would be a long burst of errors even though the local mean signal level is
much higher than the interference. Even powerful error correction codes
may be unable to cope with an extended error burst. If digital data is
transmitted in a synchronous time-division multiplexing (TDM) struc-
ture, in which multiple users share the same physical channel through
the use of time slots, then block interleaving can be used to provide time
diversity. Figure 12.2a illustrates the concept. Note that the same number
of bits are still affected by the noise surge, but they are spread out over a
number of logical channels. If each channel is protected by forward error
correction, the error-correcting code may be able to cope with the
smaller number of bits that are in error in a particular logical channel. If
TDM is not used, time diversity can still be applied by viewing the stream
of bits from the source as a sequence of blocks and then shuffling the
blocks. In Figure 12.2b, blocks are shuffled in groups of four. Again, the
same number of bits is in error, but the error-correcting code is applied
to sets of bits that are spread out in time. Even greater diversity is
achieved by combining TDM interleaving with block shuffling.
FIGURE 12.2 Interleaving Data Blocks to Spread the Effects of Error Bursts

The trade-off with time diversity is delay. The greater the degree of inter-
leaving and shuffling used, the longer the delay in reconstructing the
original bit sequence at the receiver.

Adaptive Modulation and Coding

The characteristics of a wireless channel can change hundreds of times

per second due to fading, and modern systems use adaptive modulation
and coding (AMC) to adjust their schemes just as quickly. This essentially
involves creating signals that send as much information as possible for a
given received signal strength and noise and then detecting and correct-
ing the errors. To adapt hundreds of times per second, two features must
be present in the protocols for a system:

Mechanisms to measure the quality of the wireless channel. These

might include monitoring packet loss rates or sending special pilot sig-
nals expressly for measurement purposes.
Messaging mechanisms to communicate the signal quality indicators
between transmitters and receivers and also to communicate the new
modulation and coding formats.

Forward Error Correction

Forward error correction is applicable in digital transmission applica-

tions: those in which the transmitted signal carries digital data or digi-
tized voice or video data. The term forward refers to procedures whereby
a receiver, using only information contained in the incoming digital
transmission, corrects bit errors in the data. This is in contrast to back-
ward error correction, in which the receiver merely detects the presence
of errors and then sends a request back to the transmitter to retransmit
the data in error. Backward error correction is not practical in many
wireless applications. For example, in satellite communications, the
amount of delay involved makes retransmission undesirable. In mobile
communications, the error rates are often so high that there is a high
probability that the retransmitted block of bits will also contain errors. In
these applications, forward error correction is required. In essence, for-
ward error correction is achieved as follows:

Step 1. Using a coding algorithm, the transmitter adds a number of addi-

tional, redundant bits to each transmitted block of data. These bits form
an error-correcting code and are calculated as a function of the data bits.

Step 2. For each incoming block of bits (data plus error-correcting code),
the receiver calculates a new error-correcting code from the incoming
data bits. If the calculated code matches the incoming code, then the re-
ceiver assumes that no error has occurred in this block of bits.
Step 3. If the incoming and calculated codes do not match, then one or
more bits are in error. If the number of bit errors is below a threshold
that depends on the length of the code and the nature of the algorithm, it
is possible for the receiver to determine the bit positions in error and cor-
rect all errors.

Typically in mobile wireless applications, the ratio of total bits sent to

data bits sent is between 2 and 3. This may seem an extravagant amount
of overhead, in that the capacity of the system is cut to one-half or one-
third of its potential, but the mobile wireless environment is such a chal-
lenging medium that such levels of redundancy are necessary.

Chapter 13 provides an introduction to forward error correction

techniques.

12.2 Introduction to Antennas

An antenna can be defined as an electrical conductor or system of con-

ductors used either for radiating electromagnetic energy or for collecting
electromagnetic energy. For transmission of a signal, radio-frequency
electrical energy from the transmitter is converted into electromagnetic
energy by the antenna and radiated into the surrounding environment
(atmosphere, space, water). For reception of a signal, electromagnetic en-
ergy impinging on the antenna is converted into radio-frequency electri-
cal energy and fed into the receiver.

In two-way communication, the same antenna can be and often is used

for both transmission and reception. This is possible because any antenna
transfers energy from the surrounding environment to its input receiver
terminals with the same efficiency used to transfer energy from the out-
put transmitter terminals into the surrounding environment, assuming
that the same frequency is used in both directions. Put another way, an-
tenna characteristics are essentially the same whether an antenna is
sending or receiving electromagnetic energy.

Radiation Patterns

An antenna radiates power in all directions but, typically, does not per-
form equally well in all directions. A common way to characterize the
performance of an antenna is based on the radiation pattern. When the
radiated power of a transmitting antenna is measured around the an-
tenna, a shape called the radiation pattern emerges. The pattern is a
graphical representation of the radiation properties of an antenna as a
function of space coordinates.

An idealized antenna known as an isotropic antenna produces the sim-

plest radiation pattern. An isotropic antenna is a point in space that ra-
diates power in all directions equally. The actual radiation pattern for the
isotropic antenna is a sphere with the antenna at the center. However, a
radiation pattern is almost always depicted as a two-dimensional cross
section of the three-dimensional pattern. The pattern for an isotropic an-
tenna is shown in Figure 12.3a. The distance from the antenna to each
point on the radiation pattern is proportional to the power radiated from
the antenna in that direction. Figure 12.3b shows the radiation pattern of
another idealized antenna. This is a directional antenna in which the pre-
ferred direction of radiation is along one axis.

FIGURE 12.3 Idealized Radiation Patterns

The actual size of a radiation pattern is arbitrary. What is important is the

relative distance from the antenna position in each direction. The relative
distance determines the relative power. To determine the relative power
in a given direction, a line is drawn from the antenna position at the ap-
propriate angle, and the point of intercept with the radiation pattern is
determined. Figure 12.3 shows a comparison of two transmission angles,
A and B, drawn on the two radiation patterns. The isotropic antenna pro-
duces an omnidirectional radiation pattern of equal strength in all direc-
tions, so the A and B vectors are of equal length. For the antenna pattern
in Figure 12.3b, the B vector is longer than the A vector, indicating that
more power is radiated in the B direction than in the A direction, and the
relative lengths of the two vectors are proportional to the amount of
power radiated in the two directions. Please note that this type of dia-
gram shows relative antenna gain in each direction, not relative distance
of coverage, although they are, of course, related.

The radiation pattern provides a convenient means of determining the

beamwidth of an antenna, which is a common measure of the directivity
of an antenna. The beamwidth, also referred to as the half-power
beamwidth, is the angular separation in which the magnitude of the radi-
ation pattern decreases by 50% (–3 dB) from the peak of the main beam.
Figure 12.4 illustrates this quantity. Another commonly quoted
beamwidth is the null-to-null beamwidth. This is the angular separation
from which the magnitude of the radiation pattern decreases to zero
(negative infinity dB) away from the main beam.
FIGURE 12.4 Half-Power Beamwidth and First Null-to-Null Beamwidth of an Antenna Radiation
Pattern

When an antenna is used for reception, the radiation pattern becomes a

reception pattern. The longest section of the pattern indicates the best
direction for reception.

Antenna Types

This subsection introduces the common basic types of antennas.

Dipoles and Monopoles

The two most fundamental antennas that can be implemented are the
half-wave dipole, or Hertz, antenna (see Figure 12.5a) and the quarter-
wave vertical, or Marconi, antenna (see Figure 12.5b). The half-wave
dipole consists of two straight collinear conductors of equal length, sepa-
rated by a small gap. The length of the antenna is one-half the wavelength
of the signal that can be transmitted most efficiently. A half-wave dipole
has a uniform or omnidirectional radiation pattern in one dimension and
a figure-eight pattern in the other two dimensions (see Figure 12.5a). This
means the energy is directed along the ground. Much less energy is ex-
pended vertically (and lost) than with an isotropic antenna.

FIGURE 12.5 Simple Antennas

The operating principle of the quarter-wave monopoles is based on the
fact that the current distribution on an antenna structure that is only a
quarter wavelength long is identical to that on a half-wave dipole if the
antenna element missing from the dipole is replaced by a highly conduct-
ing surface. As a result of this reflection principle, vertical quarter-wave
antennas on conducting ground have basically the same radiation pattern
as half-wave dipole antennas (see Figure 12.5b). There is, of course, no
radiation into the shadowed half of the space. A vertical quarter-wave an-
tenna is the type commonly used for automobile radios and portable
radios.

If multiple antennas are configured in an array of antennas, these multi-

ple antennas can produce a directional beam. The radiation of the electric
field from a single antenna is, using complex mathematics
representation:

With multiple antennas, the signals to each antenna can be adjusted with
complex weights zk to impose certain phase, amplitude, and time delay
such that the sum of the antenna patterns sends or listens more strongly
in a certain direction. This results in:

where dk is the distance from each antenna element to the receiver. The
weights are optimized according to different criteria. For example, for an-
tennas placed in a linear array, a typical directional radiation pattern is
shown in Figure 12.6. This pattern produces a main lobe that is 60° wide.
This requires four antennas and is produced from a linear array where
the antennas are spaced apart by a half of a wavelength. In this example,
the main strength of the antenna is in the x direction. Notice that some
energy is sent to the sides and back of the antenna in what are called the
sidelobes. There are also, however, nulls in the patterns where very little
signal energy is sent in those directions.
FIGURE 12.6 Radiation Patterns in Three Dimensions

Directional Antennas

Directional antennas are becoming increasingly practical and useful in

modern systems, but they have actually been used for many years. For
example, a typical cellular coverage area is split into three 120° sectors
using three sets of directional antennas in a triangular configuration of
antennas. For modern applications, directional antennas can be dynami-
cally configured to follow individuals or groups of users to provide strong
gain in intended directions and nulls toward interferers. These would be
considered adaptive antenna arrays or switched antenna arrays.

Beginning with 4G, base stations with the capability of six sectors per cell
have appeared, as shown in Figure 12.7. At the cost of additional com-
plexity, the six-sector cell provides for an increased number of simultane-
ous users [HAQU11].

FIGURE 12.7 Different Cell Sectorization Schemes

Parabolic Reflective Antenna

An important type of antenna is the parabolic reflective antenna, which

is used in terrestrial microwave and satellite applications. A parabola is
the locus of all points equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point not
on the line. The fixed point is called the focus, and the fixed line is called
the directrix (see Figure 12.8a). If a parabola is revolved about its axis,
the surface generated is called a paraboloid. A cross section through the
paraboloid parallel to its axis forms a parabola, and a cross section per-
pendicular to the axis forms a circle. Such surfaces are used in automo-
bile headlights, optical and radio telescopes, and microwave antennas be-
cause of the following property: If a source of electromagnetic energy (or
sound) is placed at the focus of the paraboloid, and if the paraboloid is a
reflecting surface, the wave will bounce back in lines parallel to the axis
of the paraboloid; Figure 12.8b shows this effect in cross section. In the-
ory, this effect creates a parallel beam without dispersion. In practice,
there is some dispersion because the source of energy must occupy more
than one point. The converse is also true: If incoming waves are parallel
to the axis of the reflecting paraboloid, the resulting signal is concen-
trated at the focus.
FIGURE 12.8 Parabolic Reflective Antenna

Figure 12.8c shows a typical radiation pattern for the parabolic reflective
antenna, and Table 12.1 lists beamwidths for antennas of various sizes at
a frequency of 12 GHz. Note that the larger the diameter of the antenna,
the more tightly directional is the beam.
TABLE 12.1 Antenna Beamwidths for Various Diameter Parabolic Reflective Antennas at f = 12
GHz

Antenna Diameter (m) Beamwidth (degrees)

0.5 3.5

0.75 2.33

1.0 1.75

1.5 1.166

2.0 0.875

2.5 0.7

5.0 0.35

Antenna Gain

Antenna gain is a measure of the directionality of an antenna. Antenna

gain is defined as the power output, in a particular direction, compared
to that produced in any direction by a perfect omnidirectional antenna
(i.e., isotropic antenna). For example, if an antenna has a gain of 3 dB,
that antenna improves upon the isotropic antenna in that direction by 3
dB, or a factor of 2. The increased power radiated in a given direction oc-
curs at the expense of other directions. In effect, increased power is radi-
ated in one direction by reducing the power radiated in other directions.
It is important to note that antenna gain does not refer to obtaining more
output power than input power but rather to directionality of output
power.

A concept related to antenna gain is the effective area of an antenna. If

we picture energy radiating outward in a spherical shape, the effective
area is the surface area on that sphere where energy can be harvested.
The effective area of an antenna is related to the physical size of the an-
tenna and to its shape. The relationship between antenna gain and effec-
tive area is:
where:

G = antenna gain

Ae = effective area

f = carrier frequency

c = speed of light (≈ 3 × 108 m/s)

λ = carrier wavelength

Table 12.2 shows the antenna gains and effective areas for some typical
antenna shapes.

TABLE 12.2 Antenna Gains and Effective Areas

Type of Antenna Effective Area Power Gain (rela-

Ae (m2) tive to isotropic)

Isotropic λ2/4π 1

Infinitesimal dipole or loop 1.5 λ2/4π 1.5

Half-wave dipole 1.64 λ2/4π 1.64

Horn, mouth area A 0.81 A 10 A/λ2

Parabolic, face area A 0.56 A 7 A/λ2

Turnstile (two crossed, per- 1.15 λ2/4π 1.15

pendicular dipoles)

EXAMPLE

For a parabolic reflective antenna with a diameter of 2 m, operating at 12

GHz, what is the effective area and the antenna gain? According to Table
12.2, for a parabolic antenna, we use the face area, which is circular. We
have an area of A = πr2 = π and an effective area of Ae = 0.56π. The wave-
length is λ = c/f = (3 × 108)/(12 × 109) = 0.025 m. Then:

G = (7A)/λ2 = (7 × π)/(0.025)2 = 35,186

GdB = 45.46 dB

12.3 Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output (MIMO) Antennas

If a transmitter and receiver implement a system with multiple antennas,

this is called a multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) system. Such
systems make it possible to implement several of the mechanisms dis-
cussed in Section 12.1. 5G systems make extensive use of MIMO antenna
systems. Key features are base station antennas consisting of large arrays
of antennas, the use of beamforming, and the use of beam management,
all of which are described subsequently.

Section 12.2 describes the use of an array of antennas to provide a direc-

tional antenna pattern. As illustrated in Figure 12.9, three other impor-
tant uses of antenna arrays are also possible.
FIGURE 12.9 Four Uses of MIMO

The four uses of MIMO are as follows:

Diversity: Space diversity can be accomplished in order to allow mul-

tiple received signals through multiple transmit and/or receive anten-
nas. If spacing cannot be achieved for full signal independence, some
benefits of space diversity can still be achieved.
Multiple streams: Multiple parallel data streams can flow between
pairs of transmit and receive antennas.
Beamforming: Multiple antennas can be configured to create direc-
tional antenna patterns to focus and increase energy to intended
recipients.
 Multiple-user MIMO: With enough MIMO antennas, directional an-
tenna beams can be established to multiple users simultaneously.

Modern systems implement up to 4×4 (4 input, 4 output) and 8×8 MIMO

configurations. Antenna systems have been approved in specifications for
as many as 8 per antenna array, and two-dimensional arrays of 64 anten-
nas or more are being envisioned for 5G.

The MIMO antenna architecture has become a key technology in evolving

high-speed wireless networks, including IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi LANs and 4G
and 5G. MIMO exploits the space dimension to improve wireless systems
in terms of capacity, range, and reliability. Together, MIMO and OFDM
technologies form the cornerstone of emerging broadband wireless
networks.

MIMO Principles

In a MIMO scheme, the transmitter and receiver employ multiple anten-

nas. The source data stream is divided into n substreams, one for each of
the n transmitting antennas. The individual substreams are the input to
the transmitting antennas (multiple input). At the receiving end, m anten-
nas receive the transmissions from the n source antennas via a combina-
tion of line-of-sight transmission and multipath, as shown in Figure
12.10. The output signals from all of the m receiving antennas (multiple
output) are combined. With a lot of complex math, the result is a much
better receive signal than can be achieved with either a single antenna or
multiple frequency channels. Note that the terms input and output refer
to the input to the transmission channel and the output from the trans-
mission channel, respectively.
FIGURE 12.10 MIMO Scheme

MIMO systems are characterized by the number of antennas at each end

of the wireless channel. Thus, a 8×4 MIMO system has 8 antennas at one
end of the channel and 4 at the other end. In configurations with a base
station, the first number typically refers to the number of antennas at the
base station. There are two types of MIMO transmission schemes:

Spatial diversity: The same data is coded and transmitted through

multiple antennas, which effectively increases the power in the chan-
nel proportionally to the number of transmitting antennas. This im-
proves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for cell edge performance.
Further, diverse multipath fading offers multiple “views” of the trans-
mitted data at the receiver, thus increasing robustness. In a multipath
scenario where each receiving antenna would experience a different
interference environment, there is a high probability that if one an-
tenna is suffering a high level of fading, another antenna has suffi-
cient signal level.
Spatial multiplexing: A source data stream is divided among the
transmitting antennas. The gain in channel capacity is proportional to
the available number of antennas at the transmitter or receiver,
whichever is less. Spatial multiplexing can be used when transmitting
conditions are favorable and for relatively short distances compared
 to spatial diversity. The receiver must do considerable signal process-
ing to sort out the incoming substreams, all of which are transmitting
in the same frequency channel, and to recover the individual data
streams.

For spatial multiplexing, there is a multilink channel that can be ex-

pressed as y = Hc + n, where y is the vector of received signals, c is the
vector of transmitted signals, n is an additive noise component, and H =
[hij] is an r×t channel matrix, with r being the number of receiving anten-
nas and t the number of transmitting antennas. The number of spatial
data streams is min[r, t]. Figure 12.11 shows a channel with three trans-
mitters and four receivers. The equation for this configuration is:
FIGURE 12.11 3×4 MIMO Scheme

hij are complex numbers x+jz that represent both the mean amplitude at-
tenuation (x) over the channel and the path-dependent phase shift (z),
and the ni are additive noise components. The receiver measures the
channel gains based on training fields containing known patterns in the
packet preamble and can estimate the transmitted signal. The mathemat-
ics of the estimation is beyond the scope of this book.

Multiple-User MIMO

Multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) extends the basic MIMO concept to mul-

tiple endpoints, each with multiple antennas. The advantage of MU-MIMO
compared to single-user MIMO is that the available capacity can be
shared to meet time-varying demands. MU-MIMO techniques are used in
both Wi-Fi and 4G and 5G cellular networks.

There are two applications of MU-MIMO:

Uplink—multiple access channel (MAC): With MIMO-MAC, multiple

end users transmit simultaneously to a single base station.
Downlink—broadcast channel (BC): With MIMO-BC, the base station
transmits separate data streams to multiple independent users.

MIMO-MAC is used on the uplink channel to provide multiple access to

subscriber stations. In general, MIMO-MAC systems outperform point-to-
point MIMO, particularly if the number of receiver antennas is greater
than the number of transmit antennas at each user. A variety of multi-
user detection techniques are used to separate the signals transmitted by
the users.

MIMO-BC is used on the downlink channel to enable the base station to

transmit different data streams to multiple users over the same fre-
quency band. MIMO-BC is more challenging to implement than MIMO-
MAC. The techniques employed involve processing of the data symbols at
the transmitter to minimize interuser interference.
12.4 Advanced Cellular Antennas

This section examines advanced cellular antennas used in 5G networks.

The section begins with an overview of the evolution of cellular antenna
technology. The remainder of the section examines key aspects of ad-
vanced antenna technology: beamforming, active antenna systems, and
massive MIMO.

Evolution of Cellular Antennas

Figure 12.12, from [SAUN18], indicates that cellular antenna technology

has in essence gone through four generations1:
FIGURE 12.12 Progression of Antenna Technology

1. This designation of antenna technology generations does not have a

one-to-one correspondence with the overall designation of cellular net-
work generations.

The generations are as follows:

Generation 1: Traditional cellular networks have mainly used sector-

ized antennas (three sectors) that offer frequency performance ade-
quate to provide specific service for a specific carrier’s frequency
band. A typical configuration uses a base transceiver station that
transmits radio-frequency signals through coaxial cable to a single an-
tenna unit.
Generation 2: The advent of 4G cellular networks brought the intro-
duction of passive MIMO technologies and carrier aggregation, which
allowed for devices to connect over multiple spatial multiplexed paths
and over several frequency bands. In many countries, it is still the case
that only 2×2 MIMO and limited carrier aggregation (due to user
equipment [UE] limitations) are deployed [MILL20]. Generation 2 re-
places the radio unit from the indoor enclosure at the base of a tower
with a remote radio unit (RRU) at the tower top below the antenna.
RRU replaces coaxial feeder cables with fiber-optic cable intercon-
nects. The RRU enables the system to deploy one or more antennas at a
distance from the base station. In the case of 4×4 MIMO and 8×8
MIMO, multiple remote units are connected to multiple MIMO
antennas.
Generation 3: The Generation 2 arrangement can, in principle, scale
linearly with the increase in MIMO complexity. The disadvantages are
cell tower clutter and cost and complexity issues. To overcome these
disadvantages, the third generation of antenna technology provides
more compact antenna systems. Integrated antenna radio (IAR) inte-
grates the radio unit and antenna within the radome2 where the radio
interfaces with an antenna array. This arrangement does away with
separate remote units, instead providing integrated transceivers,
MIMO, and beamforming hardware in the same assembly as the an-
tenna. The arrangement also eliminates the need for separate coax ca-
bles for each antenna element.
 2. A radome (radar dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that
protects a radar system or antenna and is constructed of material that
minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or re-
ceived by the antenna. Radomes protect antenna surfaces from
weather and conceal antenna electronic equipment from public view.
Generation 4: To support mmWave, 5G requires the use of massive
MIMO antennas of at least 64×64. Generation 4 integrates multiple ra-
dio transceivers inside the antenna, where each radio interfaces with
a dedicated antenna element to form an array. Massive MIMO pro-
vides more sophisticated beamforming and beam management capa-
bility and narrower antenna patterns.

Each base station generation provides improvements in one or more criti-

cal areas: better radio performance, lower operating power, reduced size,
or faster installation time [5GAM19]. For example, the transition from
BTS to RRU saw a 50% cut in power consumption and 3 dB reduction in
downlink loss. The transition from RRU to IAR saw a 40% reduction in
size, 8% lower power, and 1 dB improvement in downlink loss.
Generation 4 AAS achieves yet a higher level of performance.

Beamforming

Beamforming is one of the essential technologies in developing advanced

cellular antenna systems. This subsection provides an overview.

Basic Principles

Beamforming is a technique by which an array of antennas can be

steered to transmit radio signals in a specific direction. Rather than sim-
ply broadcasting energy/signals in all directions, the antenna arrays that
use beamforming determine the direction of interest and send/receive a
stronger beam of signals in that specific direction.

In this technique, each antenna element is fed separately with the signal
to be transmitted. The phase and amplitude of each signal are then added
constructively and destructively in such a way that they concentrate the
energy into a narrow beam or lobe. The various transmitted signals
merge in the air by normal coherence of the electromagnetic waves,
thereby forming a virtual beam in a predetermined direction. To under-
stand how this procedure works, consider a signal that is fed to different
antenna elements shifted in phase different amounts for each element.
Now picture the transmitted energy from each element at an angle of 45°.
At any point along that 45° line, the distance traveled by electromagnetic
waves from different antenna elements is not equal. If the phase shifting
is such that at 45°, signals from all antenna elements arrive at the same
phase, then the beam is strongest in that direction.

Figure 12.13 indicates the effect. There is one main lobe in the direction
where the multiple signals reinforce each other to the maximum extent.
In other directions, there is more interference and cancelation between
signals, to a greater or lesser degree, forming weaker side lobes. In
Figure 12.13, only three side lobes are depicted, although there are in fact
numerous such lobes, each significantly weaker than the main lobe. In
general, the main lobe becomes more dominant and narrower as more
antenna elements are added to the array.

FIGURE 12.13 Illustration of Beamforming

Beamforming has the following advantages:

Higher SNR: The highly directional transmission enhances the link

budget, improving the range for both open-space and indoor
penetration.
Interference prevention and rejection: Beamforming prevails over
cochannel interference (CCI), explained subsequently, by taking ad-
vantage of the antennas’ spatial properties.
Higher network efficiency: By substantially minimizing CCI, beam-
forming allows much denser deployments than are possible with sin-
gle-antenna systems.
Cochannel interference can occur when the same frequency band is used
in two cells that are relatively near each other. If conditions are right, the
energy from a signal in one cell may be sufficient to be noticeable in the
other cell and interfere with the local signal, generating errors. With
highly directional beams, the possibility of interference is dramatically
reduced.

Beam Management

Beam management refers to techniques and processes used to achieve

the transmission and reception of data over relatively narrow beams.
Beamforming and beam management are essential for using the
mmWave region over the 5G air interface. Narrow beams are needed to
compensate for high path loss and blockage. With the use of narrow
beams, and especially if the UE is mobile, beam management provides the
means for both the base station antenna and the onboard UE antenna to
“lock on” to a beam that provides an optimal path from transmitter to
receiver.

By adjusting the phase and amplitude parameters, a MIMO antenna can

generate multiple beams, with each beam covering part of the cell area.
For downlink transmission, the objective of beam management is to se-
lect a transmit beam to a UE so that the UE can receive the signal with the
highest power and best SNR. For uplink transmission, the base station at-
tempts to choose the receive beam for a UE with the best receive beam-
forming gain. Similarly, if the UE antenna system is capable of beamform-
ing, the UE can utilize the beams to improve link quality.

The beam management procedure involves beamforming, beam sweep-

ing, beam measurement, beam determination, and beam reporting, as
shown in Figure 12.14, from [YUE17], which indicates the following ele-
ments in the context of downlink transmission:
FIGURE 12.14 Beam Management Procedures with Downlink Transmissions

Beam sweeping: The base station antenna (i.e., the 5G radio access
network node gNB) transmits beams in a predetermined sequence for
beam measurement at the UE side.
Beam measurement: The UE measures the characteristics of received
beamformed signals.
Beam determination: The UE selects the optimal beam. In essence,
the UE isolates the receive beam, which affords the best reception. The
best results are obtained when the transmitting and receiving beam
pair is optimal for the location of the UE at the time.
Beam reporting: The UE reports back to the gNB the information
based on beam measurement.

Beam management is an ongoing dynamic process that involves selecting

an initial beam pair and then modifying the selection as transmit/receive
conditions change.

FD-MIMO

The term full-dimension MIMO (FD-MIMO), or 3D-MIMO, refers to a

MIMO antenna system that is capable of varying the direction of a beam
in both horizontal (azimuth) and vertical (elevation) dimensions, as
shown in Figure 12.15. Thus, FD-MIMO can project a beam in any direc-
tion in three-dimensional space.
FIGURE 12.15 FD-MIMO

Earlier MIMO schemes are based on two-dimensional horizontal beam-

forming. The increase in the number of antenna elements in more recent
MIMO systems makes it possible to exploit the vertical dimension for
beamforming. This has advantages, especially in dense urban environ-
ments. The ability to adjust transmitted beams in the vertical dimension
can improve the received signal power of terminals deep inside high-rise
buildings and help overcome some of the building penetration loss. FD
beamforming is also advantageous in indoor deployments in high-rise
buildings, where a single base station may be able to optimize coverage
over more than one floor. Such techniques directly increase spectral
efficiency.

A distinguishing, and necessary, characteristic of an FD-MIMO antenna is

that the antenna elements are arranged in a two-dimensional (2D) array,
in contrast to the linear layout of earlier MIMO systems. An advantage of
the 2D antenna array is that it reduces the form factor of the antenna
compared to a linear antenna array used in earlier systems.
Active Antenna Systems

An active antenna system (AAS) is one in which radio-frequency (RF)

components, such as power amplifiers and transceivers, are integrated
with an array of antenna elements. There are a number of benefits to
this, including the following:

The site footprint is reduced.

The distribution of radio functions to the individual antennas within
the radome results in built-in redundancy and improved thermal
performance.
Distributed transceivers support advanced beamforming features and
enable FD-MIMO.
Integrating the active transceiver array and passive antenna array
into one radome reduces cable losses.

Figure 12.16 provides a simplified view of the difference between passive

and active antenna systems. In the passive system, only the phase shifter
is incorporated with the radiating antenna element in the radome. The
oscillator, or exciter, that provides the reference waveform as well as the
auxiliary high-frequency clock signals is collocated with a
transmitter/receiver (T/R) module. In an active antenna system, the T/R
module is distributed to each of the antenna array elements inside the
radome.
FIGURE 12.16 Simplified View of Passive and Active Antenna Systems

Massive MIMO

By using AAS technology, it is possible to deploy 2D arrays with large

numbers of antennas placed on a plane; this is referred to as a massive
MIMO (mMIMO) configuration. A greater number of transceivers (TRx)
on an antenna means more degrees of freedom to modify the radiation
pattern of the transmitted signal based on where the receiver is located.

Massive MIMO is a scaled-up version of the conventional small-scale

MIMO systems. As shown in Figure 12.17, from [ALBR19], an mMIMO
system incorporates a large number (practically some dozens or hun-
dreds—and theoretically up to thousands) of base station antenna ele-
ments to serve simultaneously multiple users with a flexibility to deter-
mine which users to schedule for reception at any given time. The most
common mMIMO concept assumes that the user terminals have just a sin-
gle antenna and that the number of antennas at the base station is signifi-
cantly larger than the number of served users.3 However, mobile phones
are increasingly equipped with multiple antennas, providing more
flexibility.

FIGURE 12.17 Massive MIMO Logical Architecture

3. Thus, the term massive MIMO is often a misnomer, due to the single-an-
tenna UE. Often the system is actually a multiuser single-input/multiple-
output (SIMO) uplink or multiple-input/single-output (MISO) downlink. As
is customary in the literature, this text refers to both single- and multiple-
antenna terminal cases as massive MIMO.

Massive MIMO is implemented in two different duplexing approaches—

frequency-division duplexing (FDD) and time-division duplexing (TDD)—
both introduced in Section 1.6 in Chapter 1, “Cellular Networks:
Concepts and Evolution.” FDD uses different frequencies for downlink
(DL) and uplink (UL). TDD uses the same frequency for both UL and DL,
with a block of time allocated in each direction. TDD benefits from chan-
nel reciprocity: The channel estimation using UL can be utilized for DL
beamforming, thus leading to less overhead.

As the number of antennas in a MIMO system increases, there is an in-

crease in three types of gain [BARR16, BUSA18]:

Antenna gain: Increasing the number of antennas increases the an-

tenna gain, making it possible to radiate energy in a more directional
manner toward the user, reducing system interferences and increas-
ing capacity. For multiuser MIMO, array gain is proportional to the
number of antennas, provided that the base station/UE channels ex-
hibit orthogonality.
Diversity gain: Diversity gain refers to the ability to exploit spatial di-
versity. As discussed in Section 12.3, spatial diversity is achieved by
sending multiple versions of the same signal through different anten-
nas and combining these at the receiver, improving signal robustness.
For a MIMO system with M antennas at the transmitter and N anten-
nas at the receiver, the maximum diversity gain is M×N. The maxi-
mum gain is achieved if the M×N fading coefficients are independent.
Multiplexing gain: As discussed in Section 12.3, spatial multiplexing
is achieved by transmitting different portions of a data stream be-
tween different transmitter/receiver pairs. Thus spatial multiplexing
reuses the frequency band, creating multiple communications chan-
nels and increasing capacity. Depending on SNR characteristics, MIMO
can produce up to min[M, N] independent data streams.

However, increasing the number of antennas introduces the following

technical challenges [LU14, BUSA18]:
 Computational complexity: The computational complexity for chan-
nel estimation, signal processing, and other tasks at the base station
increases with increasing numbers of antennas and users.
Channel estimation: For multiuser MIMO, channel estimation refers
to determining the transmission characteristics for the air link be-
tween each UE and the base station. MIMO systems typically use TDD,
especially as the number of antennas increases. Figure 12.18 shows a
simplified view of the time division used on a given link, forming a
frame with three phases of operation. The pilot subframe is a se-
quence of predefined symbols used by the base station to estimate
channel status information. Each UE sends a different sequence of pi-
lot symbols so that the base station can discriminate among users.

FIGURE 12.18 Simplified Structure for MIMO TDD Frame

Pilot contamination: Within each sector or cell, the pilots from the
various UEs are orthogonal to prevent interference. However, there is
the potential for interference between pilots in adjacent cells, called
pilot contamination. [LU14] discusses a number of possible mitigation
methods.

Table 12.3, from [BUSA18], summarizes the basic benefits and challenges
of the different antenna technologies.

TABLE 12.3 Benefits and Challenges for Antenna Technologies*

 SU- MU-
Antenna Technology SISO mMIMO
MIMO MIMO

Diversity gain × ✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓✓

Multiplexing gain × ✓✓ ✓✓✓ ✓✓✓✓

Array gain × ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓✓

mmWave bandwidth × × × ×

Computational × ×× ××× ××××

complexity

Channel estimation × ×× ××× ××××

challenge

Pilot contamination × ×× ××× ××××

issue

* × = challenge

✓ = benefit

The number of symbols signifies the normalized quantity relative to SISO.

12.5 Key Terms and Review Questions

Key Terms

3D MIMO
active antenna system
adaptive equalization
adaptive modulation and coding
antenna
antenna gain
beamwidth
 beamforming
dipole
directional antenna
effective area
error-correcting code
forward error correction
frequency diversity
full-dimension MIMO (FD-MIMO)
isotropic antenna
linear array
main lobe
massive MIMO (mMIMO)
millimeter wave (mmWave)
multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) antenna
multiple-user MIMO
orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)
parabolic reflective antenna
radiation pattern
radome
reception pattern
sidelobe
space diversity
spatial diversity
spatial multiplexing
spread spectrum
time diversity
time-division multiplexing (TDM)

Review Questions

1. Define adaptive equalization.

2. What is the difference between space, frequency, and time diversity?

3. What two functions are performed by an antenna?

4. What is an isotropic antenna?

5. What information is available from a radiation pattern?

6. What is the advantage of a parabolic reflective antenna?

7. What factors determine antenna gain?

8. What is meant by the term multiple-input/multiple-output antenna?

9. What distinguishes single-user MIMO from multiple-user MIMO?

10. Explain the two types of MIMO transmission schemes.

11. What are two applications of multiple-user MIMO?

12. What is beamforming?

13. Describe the advantages of beamforming.

14. What is beam management?

15. Describe the four elements of beam management for downlink

transmission.

16. What is FD-MIMO?

17. Describe the benefits of an active antenna system compared to a pas-

sive antenna system.

18. What are the alternative duplexing approaches for implementing

massive MIMO?

12.6 References

5GAM19 5G Americas. Advanced Antenna Systems for 5G. White paper,

August 2019.

ALBR19 Albreem, M., Juntti, M., and Shahabuddin, S. “Massive MIMO

Detection Techniques: A Survey.” IEEE Communications Surveys and
Tutorials, Fourth Quarter, 2019.

BARR16 Barreto, A., et al. “5G—Wireless Communications for 2020.”

Journal of Communication and Information Systems, no. 1, 2016.
BUSA18 Busan, S., et al. “Millimeter-Wave Massive MIMO Communication
for Future Wireless Systems: A Survey.” IEEE Communications Surveys
and Tutorials, Second Quarter, 2018.

HAQU11 Haque, A., et al. “Performance Analysis of UMTS Cellular

Network Using Sectorization Based on Capacity and Coverage.”
International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, vol.
2, no. 6, 2011.

LU14 Lu, L., et al. “An Overview of Massive MIMO: Benefits and
Challenges.” IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing, October
2014.

MILL20 Miller, M. “Antennas Evolve to Meet 5G Requirements.” High

Frequency, February 2020.

SAUN18 Saunders, J. The Rise & Outlook of Antennas in 5G. ABI Research
white paper, June 2018. https://go.abiresearch.com/lp-rise-and-outlook-
of-antennas-in-5g

YUE17 Yue, G., et al. “MIMO Technologies in 5G New Radio.” GetMobile,

March 2017.