1 January 2018

Energy Efficient Transmitter with Low Resolution DACs for Massive MIMO with Partially Connected Hybrid Architecture

Vlachos, E., Kaushik, A., Thompson, J.
2018 IEEE 87th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring)
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Abstract

Millimeter wave (mmWave) multiple-input multiple- output (MIMO) systems have recently been proposed to meet the needs of the future wireless communication standards. The efficient use of low resolution digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and hybrid architecture could significantly reduce the high power consumption associated with the mmWave MIMO system components. This paper designs an energy efficient transmitter with low resolution DACs for mmWave massive MIMO systems. An optimization problem is formulated and solved to find the optimal number of radio-frequency (RF) chains to be used at the transmitter to minimize the power consumption. This problem is constrained by the information loss which introduces the reduction of the number of the RF chains, expressed in terms of the system capacity. Rate and energy performance are compared with different beamforming techniques and architectures for various DAC resolutions.

Type 1
Publication 2018 IEEE 87th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring)
DOI 10.1109/vtcspring.2018.8417650
Date January 2018
Research 6G UAVs

Key Contributions

  • Formulated an optimization problem to minimize transmitter power consumption by determining the optimal number of RF chains for mmWave massive MIMO systems.
  • Ensured the system capacity meets a minimum rate requirement while reducing the number of RF chains through a partially connected hybrid architecture.
  • Demonstrated that the proposed transmitter with low-resolution DACs achieves higher spectral efficiency and up to 30% improved energy efficiency compared to conventional systems with the same number of active RF chains.
Research 6G UAVs