A High-Speed DLL-Based Hybrid Phase Conjugator for 5G Beamforming

Abstract

A delay-locked loop based hybrid phase conjugator (DLL-HPC) is presented as a possible solution for 5G beamforming. Theoretical background, unique capabilities, and experimental verification are presented. The proposed DLL-HPC provides backwards compatibility with existing beamforming protocols as well as sub-millisecond beamsteering and automatic mobile target tracking with zero communication overhead. A proof-of-concept DLL-HPC prototype has been constructed from commercially available components to operate in the 5G NR-FR1 band, indicating that the technique can be readily adopted with available technology.