UC San Diego

The fifth-generation (5G) communication links promise a revolution in mobile communications with data rates on the order of 1-10 Gbps by utilizing the available bandwidth at mm-wave bands such as 28, 39 and 60 GHz. To overcome the increased path loss at mm-wave bands, the next generation communication links will rely on directive communications, enabled by phased-array techniques, and can result in lower power consumption compared to sub-6 GHz links due to the array antenna gain. While phased-arrays have been used for many years for defense applications and satellite communications, their cost needs to be significantly lowered for massive use in 5G applications. This requires the use of highly integrated chips based on silicon technologies (SiGe or CMOS), low-cost PCB designs and a great reduction in testing costs by eliminating array calibration. A scalable, low-cost phased-array capable of scanning in both azimuth and elevation at mm-wave frequencies is needed to deliver Gbps data to several users at a link distance on the order of hundreds of meters. This dissertation presents circuits, system architectures, phased-array design and measurement techniques to achieve >10 Gbps data rates at link distances of up to 300 meters without any calibration for 28 GHz 5G communications.