Full-duplex mobile device: pushing the limits

In this article, we address the challenges of transmitter-receiver isolation in mobile full-duplex devices, building on shared-antenna-based transceiver architecture. First, self-adaptive analog RF cancellation circuitry is required, since the ability to track time-varying self-interference coupling characteristics is of utmost importance in mobile devices. In addition, novel adaptive nonlinear DSP methods are also required for final self-interference suppression at digital baseband, since mobile-scale devices typically operate under highly nonlinear low-cost RF components. In addition to describing the above kind of advanced circuit and signal processing solutions, comprehensive RF measurement results from a complete demonstrator implementation are also provided, evidencing beyond 40 dB of active RF cancellation over an 80 MHz waveform bandwidth with a highly nonlinear transmitter power amplifier. Measured examples also demonstrate the good self-healing characteristics of the developed control loop against fast changes in the coupling channel. Furthermore, when complemented by nonlinear digital cancellation processing, the residual self-interference level is pushed down to the noise floor of the demonstration system, despite the harsh nonlinear nature of the self-interference. These findings indicate that deploying the full-duplex principle can indeed also be feasible in mobile devices, and thus be one potential technology in, for example, 5G and beyond radio systems.