Over-the-Air Verification of Angle-of-Arrival Estimation in Millimeter-Wave Channel Sounders

In this paper, we discuss a controlled environment over-the-air verification approach for directional channel sounder receivers at millimeter-wave frequencies. The presented verification setup uses a benchtop compact antenna test range comprising two feed-reflector systems with overlapping quiet zones, thus creating two primary multipath components with well-defined angles of incidence at the receiver under test. We discuss possible verification scenarios and present initial measurement results for a virtual array/synthetic aperture-type SIMO channel sounder at 29 GHz.

I. Introduction

The advent of fifth generation (5G) mobile radio communication technology expanded its use of radio spectrum to millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies previously unavailable for large scale commercial use. As researchers are turning to what lies beyond 5G, this trend is expected to continue towards ever increasing frequencies in the range above 100 GHz, commonly dubbed the sub-Terahertz (sub-THz) or just THz bands.