Hybrid MIMO Architectures for Millimeter Wave Communications: Phase Shifters or Switches?

Hybrid analog/digital multiple-input multiple-output architectures were recently proposed as an alternative for fully digital-precoding in millimeter wave wireless communication systems. This is motivated by the possible reduction in the number of RF chains and analog-to-digital converters. In these architectures, the analog processing network is usually based on variable phase shifters. In this paper, we propose hybrid architectures based on switching networks to reduce the complexity and the power consumption of the structures based on phase shifters. We define a power consumption model and use it to evaluate the energy efficiency of both structures. To estimate the complete MIMO channel, we propose an…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Award: NSF-CCF-1319556
• N
  Nokia