A 3D pyramid network for short ranged high data rate communications at 60 GHz

At millimeter-wave frequencies, the propagation characteristics approximate to that of light and high attenuation is usually incurred in the presence of people and objects. For future wireless personal/local area network (WPAN or WLAN respectively) applications, the user is expected to have maximum mobility, but the impact of shadowing is significant at these high frequencies. To mitigate such effects, a network infrastructure in the form of a 3D pyramid is proposed. It consists of a single access point with a number of active relays operating in parallel. Recent advances in radio over fiber allow such techniques to be used between the relays and the access point. Simulations are performed in a sophisticated 3D ray tracing tool. Human figures are added with shadowing densities of 1 person/256 m/sup 2/ (total room area) up to 1 person/1 m/sup 2/. Simulated results show that compared to a normal system with just a single access point either mounted on the ceiling or at the same height as a mobile terminal, the pyramid relaying system provides superior coverage and capacity.