FORMAT: A Reconfigurable Tile-Based Antenna Array System for 5G and 6G Millimeter-Wave Testbeds

Abstract

This article introduces the FORMAT array, a reconfigurable millimeter-wave antenna array platform based on antenna tiles. FORMAT stands for Flexible Organization and Reconfiguration of Millimeter-wave Antenna Tiles, which is a unique hardware solution aiming to implement and demonstrate a variety of antenna array concepts, as well as different array architectures and configurations from the same basic module, providing even benchmark between different solutions and thus valuable insights into 5G and beyond-5G antenna systems. The combination of a minimum-sized 2×2 tile with 3D-printed frame parts enables antenna arrays of a variety of sizes, allows multiple beamforming architectures and a range of different antenna element positioning in the array. The hardware implementation is thoroughly described, with a few different array assemblies being manufactured and measured, validating their antenna performance with over-the-air measurements. Finally, using FORMAT hardware as both base station and user equipment, a 5 meter wireless communication link was set up, achieving 4.8 Gbps downlink speed with QAM64 modulation.

On the Road to 6G: Visions, Requirements, Key Technologies, and Testbeds

“…Samsung [587] and Qualcomm [588] have presented 28 GHz mm-Wave MIMO Prototypes in 2014 and 2018, respectively, as well as corresponding measurement results. Recently, Anjos et al from the University of Leuven presented a reconfigurable millimeter-wave tilebased antenna array platform named Flexible Organization and Reconfiguration of Millimeter-wave Antenna Tiles (FORMAT) [558], aiming at offering an assembled hardware solution to demonstrate various antenna array concepts and thus providing valuable insights to beyond-5G. By employing FORMAT hardware at both base station and user terminal, a wireless link was set up to demonstrate a 4.8-Gbps downlink speed with 64 QAM modulation at 28.5 GHz.…”

Beyond 5G: A Comprehensive Exploration of 6G Wireless Communication Technologies

“…Noteworthy developments include the 28 GHz mm-Wave MIMO Prototypes by Samsung [225] and Qualcomm [226]. The University of Leuven introduced the Flexible Organization and Reconfiguration of Millimeter-wave Antenna Tiles (FORMAT) [227], a reconfigurable millimeter-wave tile-based antenna array platform. FORMAT demonstrated a 4.8-Gbps downlink speed with 64 QAM modulation at 28.5 GHz.…”

6G Radio Testbeds: Requirements, Trends, and Approaches

“…Level 3 (L3) and 4 (L4) are designed to test, e.g., distributed processing in real-life and real-time conditions, respectively. et al [23] present a reconfigurable tile-based antenna array system for mmWave frequencies. It enables studying different beamforming (BF) architectures such as analog and hybrid BF, antenna positioning and layout at both the base station (BS) and user equipment (UE).…”