mmWave MIMO channel sounding for 5G

Since 5G expects using mmWave frequency band, the mmWave channel sounding system, which are used to characterise the various mmWave wireless channel models, these days, become a very hot topic for 5G. In this paper, we mainly focus on how to setup mmWave MIMO channel sounding system with commercial instruments to fulfill the 6 major technical challenges foresee in 5G as well as focusing on the main channel measurement requirements: · The use of mmWave frequency band · The use of ultra-broad bandwidth · The use of massive MIMO. Then we provide our considerations on how to best address these technical challenges based on the last generation of mmWave/microwave instrumentation, measurement techniques and capabilities. At last, we propose a reference prototype system design for 5G mmWave MIMO channel sounding system, the functionalities and where performance of the prototype system are discussed.