60 GHz in-cabin real-time channel sounding

New wireless communications systems at 60 GHz are a promising solution to reach Giga-bit data rates for short range communications, e.g., for in-flight-entertainment (IFE) systems. For shadowed 60 GHz IFE systems, high resolution and multi-antenna time-varying channel characterisation are mandatory. This paper presents the first wideband 60 GHz real-time multi-antenna channel sounder (MCS) and measurement results within an Airbus-340 aircraft cabin. The MCS is a 3 GHz bandwidth system based on a modular architecture with 2 real-time acquisition channels enabled with a dynamic range up to 40 dB. This system architecture allowed the study of different in-cabin access point (AP) configurations and the inclusion of correlated shadowing by human bodies (SHB) for macro-diversity implementations. The frequency, phase and impulse response of the MCS has been tested based on back-to-back calibration data and its dynamic range verified. As example of the 60 GHz MCS application, the delay spread and the coherent bandwidth have been calculated for the in-cabin channel. Besides, comparisons between static and time-variant conditions are presented.