Abstract-In this paper, we propose a simple polynomial linearisation technique for nonlinear phased arrays including amplitude control. Due to the large number of antennas and thus power amplifiers in the array, it is inefficient to linearise each power amplifier individually. Therefore, it is demonstrated that the array can be linearised over-the-air using single polynomial. The simulations show that the linearisation is achieved by first linearising the higher driven PAs at the precompression region and then cancelling the compression by the heavily expanding lower driven PAs. The proposed approach offers an alternative way of re-thinking the concept of array linearisation over multiple PAs.Index Terms-digital predistortion, hybrid beamforming, polynomial model, power amplifiers, 5G.

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This paper shows how digital predistortion of a phased array can benefit from the parametric variations over parallel power amplifiers (PAs). Different antenna configurations are simulated by varying the PA input drive levels by the Monte-Carlo method. The error vector magnitude (EVM) at the steering angle and total radiated adjacent channel power ratio (TRACPR) are used as performance metrics. The simulation results indicate that array predistortion can benefit from the variations between the PAs to improve the EVM significantly. However, at the same time, the TRACPR performance is reduced. This gives a new trade-off to balance between in-band and outoff-band distortion in the fifth generation beamforming systems.

In this paper, an energy efficient streetlight for pedestrian roads is introduced. Energy efficiency is achieved via up-to-date light-emitting diode (LED) technology and added intelligence utilising integrated sensors and wireless control. Thermal and electrical design of the luminaire contributed to good technical functionality. The performance of the luminaire was validated with testing. The luminaire was compared with commercial lamp and LED-based street lighting technology by technical values and user acceptance. Energy savings of 19-44% through improved luminous efficacy was demonstrated without added intelligence. With smart control further power saving potential of 40-60% was shown depending on the lighting environment and pedestrian presence. User feedback of a pilot installation comparing commercial luminaires with the newly developed streetlight revealed that on average the users preferred the developed streetlight over the commercial luminaires.

Digital predistortion (DPD) of a phased array requires that multiple transmit paths must be measured by a feedback (FB) receiver (Rx). In this paper, we propose a FB concept for DPD in a time-division-duplex (TDD) phased arrays. We use a single FB line to collect the waveform samples from the parallel transmit paths to the FB Rx. The TDD switches are used to enable and disable individual transmit paths. The feedback is calibrated by comparing the FB outputs from individual PAs to over-the-air (OTA) measurement reference performed with a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) signal. The individual PA measurements are post-equalized before the DPD training to model the far-field signal. Three alternative strategies are considered for training the DPD through the calibrated FB line and compared with the OTA DPD. The performance is verified by OTA measurements of a 28 GHz phased array transmitter and with fifth generation New Radio waveform in terms of total radiated (TR) adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR), cumulative absolute ACP (CACP), and main lobe error vector magnitude (EVM). The best EVM and ACPR performance is achieved by the strategy where the individual PA responses are treated independently. The methods were comparable to the OTA DPD performance, achieving all < 37 dB TRACPR, −29 dBm/MHz CACP, and ≤ 7 % EVM.

Linearization of millimeter-wave (mmW) phased arrays is one of the key enablers for improving the system performance in terms of power, efficiency and linearity. However, phased array transceiver topologies that have multiple parallel nonlinear components with a shared digital input challenge the standard digital predistortion techniques. In addition, different analogue beamforming techniques complicate the linearization even further due to the fact that the signal nonlinearity has to be observed or modelled over-the-air (OTA) together with the impacts of antennas and even the directive mmW radio channel. The best linearization strategy depends on the system level targets of linearity such as error vector magnitude and adjacent channel power ratio which have slightly different nature when observed in the radiated far-field. In this paper, we present our view and the status of the literature on the topic of phased array digital predistortion. We highlight that the nonlinear distortion have a beam shape which may be different from the linear part of the beam. We also review the antenna array figures of merit describing the nonlinearity. Finally, we show an experimental example of OTA linearization of a 28 GHz phased array transmitter.

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