EVM Analysis of Chip-Integrated Phased Array Antenna Using USRP for 5G Communication

This paper presents the analysis of Error Vector Magnitude(EVM) using actual hardware, a USRP device and a fabricated chip-integrated phased array antenna for 5G communication at 28GHz. The EVM as a function of steering angle was measured through fixing the electronically steerable Rx antenna in place and mechanically rotating the Tx antenna at a constant distance. By adjusting the modulation scheme using USRP device, the modulation scheme that minimizes EVM at specific angles was identified. For electrical steering angles ranging from 0 to 45degree, the minimum EVM performance is achieved with Quadrature Phase Shift Keying(QPSK) modulation, whereas between 45 and 60degree, the minimum EVM performance is achieved with 8 Phase Shift Keying(8PSK) modulation. Utilizing the presented EVM measurement results, the possibility of improving communication characteristics by applying different modulation schemes based on the steering angle is demonstrated.