Analog 28 GHz LoS MIMO Relay System Using a 90° Hybrid Coupler

To enlarge the range of wireless fronthaul and backhaul communication links operating close to the millimeter-wave region, this letter presents a novel line-of-sight (LoS) multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) relay system. The analog relay system consists of a simple 90° hybrid coupler to separate two uncorrelated transmit data streams realizing a low complex and cheap system. The functional capability is proven within measurements of two independent 2 × 2 LoS MIMO links at 28 GHz connected by the relay system. A high decoupling of the two independent transmitted data streams of more than 27 dB after the 90° hybrid coupler and a high modulation error rate at the last receiver of around 22 dB could be reached for quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulated signals.