Geometrical Study of Millimeter-Wave Communication Area Covered by an Antenna Array

Abstract

Because of the severe attenuation property, the communication area size of the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band is much smaller than that of the sub-6 GHz band, and the mmWave antennas must be placed at higher density, which means that a strong cost constraint is imposed on the system design. This paper aims to provide guidelines for the development of mmWave 28 GHz antenna devices by geometrically clarifying, via a numerical simulation, the number of antenna elements, the power supply, and the antenna installation conditions required for a 1000 m2 coverage of the “nano-area”. The simulation results, assuming a simple line-of-sight situation with no blockages or reflectors, show that the coverage area over 1000 m2 requires at least a power supply P0 = 1, 3, 4 and 8 dBm for 8 × 8-, 8 × 4-, 8 × 2-, and 8 × 1-element antenna arrays, respectively, for an antenna height H = 1.5 and 4.5 m and a received power sensitivity of -70 dBm. We conclude that these parameter results of the number of elements, the power supply, and the antenna height for “nano-area”coverage are important for the system design of mmWave antenna placement.

Keywords

• Antenna arrays
• beamforming
• coverage
• millimeter-wave propagation
• 5G mobile communication