Mmwave 5G Radio | 5G mmwave transceiver manufacturers or vendors
The page covers Mmwave 5G Radio basics. It mentions 5G mmwave radio transceiver manufacturers or vendors.
Introduction:
The fifth generation of wireless technology known as 5G NR (New Radio) follows 3GPP specifications.
It is successor to 4G LTE standard and specifications are published in the 3GPP Release 15 and beyond.
There are number of features introduced in 5G such as
high spectral efficiency, higher capacity, low battery consumption. low latency,
higher throughput, wide coverage and so on.
These features fall under three main use cases viz. eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), URLLC (Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications)
and mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications).
The frequency ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz are known as millimeter wave due to its smaller wavelength. There are wide range of frequencies supported by 5G both below 6 GHz and above 6GHz. The 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands are available below 6 GHz. Above 6 GHz, 5G uses mmwave bands which include 28 GHz and 39 GHz. Each country has its own rules and allocation policies for frequency bands to be used in 5G network. Beam management and massive MIMO are enhanced in mmwave frequency bands. The mmwave bands current finalized for 5G system include n257, n258, n260 and n261. Refer 5G mmwave tutorial which describes benefits and challenges of mmwave frequency in 5G technology.
What is mmwave 5G radio Transceiver
The RF transceiver which operates in mmwave frequency bands is known as mmwave 5G radio. The figure depicts general block diagram of mmwave radio which interfaces between baseband chain output and beamforming input.
The mmwave 5G transceiver consists of transmit chain and receive chain. Both transmit chain does direct conversion from baseband I/Q to RF where as receive chain performs reverse operation.
Image Courtesy : Analog Devices, Inc.
The transmitter consists of Digital to Analog Converter, Variable gain broadband amplifier and mmwave upconverter. The receiver consists of mmwave downconverter, variable gain broadband amplifier and Analog to Digital Converter. The mmwave upconverter converts modulated IF to RF where as mmwave downconverter converts modulated RF to IF. Refer article on design of millimeter wave upconverter and downconverter >>.
The RF output is divided into several radio paths on which beamforming is performed by controlling phase of each RF path. There are two generic methods viz. analog beamforming and digital beamforming. The beamformed output is connected to antenna array for transmission into the air.
Example of mmwave radio transceiver from Analog Devices include following parts.
ADC/DAC : Part number AD9208 functions as 14 bit Analog to Digital Converter
with sample rate up to 3 GSPS, AD9172 functions as 16 bit D to A converter with
sample rate upto 12.6 GSPS.
PLL/VCO : Part number ADF4372 functions as PLL/VCO in order to provide stable reference frequency for millimeter wave up converter and down converter.
Variable Amplifier : Part number ADL5335 and ADL5569 functions as variable gain amplifiers in transmitter and receiver chain respectively.
Mmwave upconverter : Part number ADMV1013 functions as upconverter which operates at mmwave band from 24.5 to 43.5 GHz.
Mmwave downconverter : Part number ADMV1014 converts RF to baseband I/Q directly.
SPDT Switch : Part number ADRF5020 functions as SPDT switch with low insersion loss and high isolation at 30 GHz
as per Analog Devices.
5G mmwave radio transceiver manufacturers or vendors
Following table mentions popular 5G mmwave radio transceiver manufacturers.
| Company | Part number | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Anokiwave | Beamforming IC : AWMF-0165, AWMF-0151, AWMF-0159 mmwave Frequency upconverter and downconverter : AWMF-0170, AWMF-0153, AWMF-0161 |
• AWMF-0170 supports 24.25 to 27.5 GHz, AWMF-0153 supports 26.5 to 29.5 GHz, AWMF-0161 supports 37.1 to 40.0 GHz • One design to support n258, n257/261 and n260 mmwave bands • Website : https://www.anokiwave.com/ • Email : sales@anokiwave.com |
| Analog Devices | ADMV1013 , ADMV1014 |
• ADMV1013 : mmwave upconverter, ADMV1014 : mmwave downconverter • Other supporting parts used in mmwave 5G radio are described above. • Website : https://www.analog.com/ • Europe customer interaction email : cic.emea@analog.com , North America : cic.americas@analog.com, China : china.support@analog.com |
| NOKIA Corporation, Finland | Airscale mmwave radio (ASMR) |
• Supports n257 (28 GHz) and n260 (39 GHz) • Website : https://www.nokia.com/ • Email for industry and media analysts : nokia.iar@nokia.com |
| Qualcomm | SnapdragonTM X60 modem RF system |
• SDX60 can be interfaced with mmwave antenna module or with sub 6GHz RF transceiver and RF frond end. • 5G mmwave specifications : 800 MHZ BW, 8 carriers, 2x2 MIMO • 5G sub-6 GHz specifications : 200 MHz BW, 4x4 MIMO • It is world's first 5nm 5G baseband. • Module QTM527 functions as mmWave antenna module. • Website : https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon-x60-5g-modem |
| Ericsson | Ericsson Radio system supports massive MIMO, mmwave, macro, micro and indoor remote radios. |
• Antenna integrated radios for mid-bands, FDD bands which supports 4G/5G • Mmwave 5G radio supports 24 GHz to 39 GHz • Benefits : extended coverage range, multi-gigabit speed, optimized size and weight • Website : https://www.ericsson.com/ |
RF Transceiver related links
5G Transceiver Application Note
What is RF Transceiver
RF frequency converter design
VSAT system overview
5G NR Numerology | 5G NR Terminology
5G NR Control channels | 5G NR Traffic Channels | 5G NR Reference Signals and sequences
5G TECHNOLOGY RELATED LINKS
This 5G tutorial also covers following sub topics on the 5G technology:
5G basic tutorial
5G Frequency Bands
5G millimeter wave tutorial
5G mm wave frame
5G millimeter wave channel sounding
Difference between 4G and 5G
5G testing and test equipments
5G network architecture
5G NR Physical layer
5G NR MAC layer
5G NR RLC layer
5G NR PDCP layer