Scalable Modular Beamformers for Energy-Efficient MIMO Applications Using Correlation Technologies

A scalable beamformer module built using unitary $1 \times 8$ sub-arrays integrating Antenna-in-Package (AiP) in a profile of 5mm pitch array is introduced. The $\mathbf{1}\times \mathbf{8}$ module can be stacked either horizontally or vertically to create dynamic phased arrays of 8, 16, 32 or 64 elements horizontally or $\mathbf{8}\times \mathbf{8},\mathbf{16}\times \mathbf{16}$ or $\mathbf{32}\times \mathbf{32}$. The unit is USB controlled and is bidirectional. Beams can be calibrated, and calibration stored in EEPROM for fast Look-Up-Table (LUT) access. The module offers 6-bit amplitude and 6-bit phase controls. The combined gain (when all elements sum up coherently) is 30dB for receive mode and 20dB for transmit mode. The module is capable of achieving $+\mathbf{53}\mathbf{dBm}$ EIRP when used in an $8 \times 8$ configuration. The unit can switch seamlessly between TX and RX modes and has internal DC-DC converters for maximum efficiency. Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) correlators are introduced for building scalable multi-beamforming front-end-modules (FEM) with embedded cognition. Unified mmWave and baseband correlation technologies using energy density and Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) metrics are introduced for low complexity cost-effective multi-beamforming systems. The combination of convolutional accelerators with analog signal processing for linking beam-selection algorithms to stochastic-wave-shaping (SWS) will foster new system architectures with critical functionalities including direction of arrival (DOA) estimation and secure communications.