5G Millimeter Wave Array with Compact End-fire MIMO Architecture

In this paper, a multi-channel 5G millimeter wave array is presented, operating between 24.25 and 27.5 GHz. The array is composed of array antenna and multi-channel radio frequency (RF) front-end, which utilizing 4-channel mixer chips to achieve brick-shaped massive MIMO array design. It supports wide band signal transmission and is suitable for fully digital beamforming (DBF) architecture. Besides, a 5G millimeter array testing platform based on intermediate frequency (IF) phase control and mechanical turntable is built to verify the performance of beam scanning. The measured gain achieves over 14.2dB and the error vector magnitude (EVM) of 5G NR signal is lower than 1.07%. Beam scanning patterns demonstrate that the 5G millimeter wave array can cover ±30° region. This multi-channel array provides a foundation for 5G millimeter wave fully digital massive MIMO transceiver implementation.