Millimeter Wave Multi-User Performance Evaluation Based on Measured Channels With Virtual Antenna Array Channel Sounder

Virtual antenna arrays are versatile and cost-effective tools for millimeter-wave channel characterization. Massive sampling of the channel in space with virtual antenna arrays enables high spatial resolution in channel sounding. In this paper, a uniform cubic array is used with a vector network analyzer to characterize an indoor propagation channel. The power angle delay profile under line-of-sight (LOS) and obstructed-LOS (OLOS) scenarios is then extracted from the measurement data. The analysis is extended to a multi-user scenario using a virtual uniform rectangular array, which acts as the base station and with users under LOS and OLOS conditions. Results show interference suppression with zero-forcing beamforming that performs well even in critical multi-user scenarios based on the measured channels, i.e., a scenario with closely spaced users in LOS conditions and a scenario with a strong interfering user and a weak desired user.