Evaluation of capacity and power efficiency in millimeter-wave bands

Millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum bands have been proposed for commercial wireless communications to relieve the spectrum crunch in the microwave band. The mmWave bands are being vigorously pursued for multiple gigabit data transmission. In this paper, channel models for line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-ofsight (NLOS) links for specific mmWave frequency bands are presented and then used in the evaluation of green efficiency metrics, maximum achievable capacity, bits/s, and power efficiency, bits/s/Thermal Noise Energy Unit. These efficiency indexes are investigated and illustrated using Monte Carlo simulation as a function of signal to noise ratio, channel model parameters and transmitterreceiver separation distance. The results show that the mmWave bands provide better channel capacity; however, less energy efficiency is achieved.