TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges August 2012 Rev. A 08/12 SPIRENT 1325 Borregas Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089 USA Email: sales@spirent.com Web: http://www.spirent.com Americas 1-800-SPIRENT • +1-818-676-2683 • sales@spirent.com Europe and the Middle East +44 (0) 1293 767979 • emeainfo@spirent.com Asia and the Pacific +86-10-8518-2539 • salesasia@spirent.com © 2012 Spirent. All Rights Reserved. All of the company names and/or brand names and/or product names referred to in this document, in particular, the name “Spirent” and its logo device, are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Spirent plc and its subsidiaries, pending registration in accordance with relevant national laws. All other registered trademarks or trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Spirent. 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TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MIMO Beamforming - Exploiting the Spatial Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 How the Spatial Domain Facilitates MIMO Beamforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A Brief Review of Beamforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MIMO and Beamforming in a Single System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 TD-LTE – Exploiting the Time Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Testing MIMO Beamforming Receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Challenges of RF Testing in TD-LTE MIMO Beamforming . . . . . . . . . . 12 Phase Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Antenna Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Channel Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Spirent white paper • i TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Introduction Why TD-LTE? corresponding literature Time-Division Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) is one of two variants of 3GPP LTE technology. Development of the TD-LTE standard has been spearheaded by China as an evolution path for its TD-SCDMA 3G technology. However, POSTER TD-LTE and Beamforming the popularity of TD-LTE is growing rapidly in other markets, thanks to its high level of commonality with FDD LTE (the other LTE WEBINAR Understanding Beamforming in TD-LTE Deployments variant), with the resulting economies of scale, as well as the compelling economics of the unpaired spectrum needed by TD-LTE. Instead of duplexing uplink and downlink stream in the frequency domain, TD-LTE (as well as TD-SCDMA) duplexes the uplink and downlink in the time domain. WiMAX technology has also been deployed in single-band spectrum rather than in unpaired bands. The global momentum of LTE technology makes it highly likely that it will also form the 4G evolution path for many WiMAX operators, with the TD-LTE variant being ideally suited to deployment in unpaired WiMAX spectrum. Why MIMO Beamforming? MIMO beamforming is a combination of two related but different antenna techniques: MIMO, which enables increased data rates in a given spectral bandwidth and beamforming, which helps operators increase system coverage. A variation of MIMO called MU-MIMO can share the higher available data rates among multiple subscribers, further increasing network efficiency. The Relationship Between TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Technically, MIMO beamforming is not exclusive to TD-LTE systems, but there are distinct advantages to deploying beamforming alongside a Time-Domain-Duplexed (TDD) technology. These advantages will be discussed in detail in this paper. 1 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges The business drivers for tying MIMO beamforming to TD-LTE are a function of TD-LTE’s initial markets. Both China and India are planning to deploy TD-LTE on a staggering scale; to give one reference point, a Chinese TD-LTE trial includes planned deployment of over 200,000 TD-LTE base stations by the end of 2013. These countries must optimize coverage due to pockets of incredibly high subscriber density. While much of the initial focus for TD-LTE is on Asia, the technology will be adopted worldwide by operators with unpaired spectrum (WiMAX and TD-SCDMA) who are looking to get in on the growing LTE ecosystem. This white paper provides: • A brief review of MIMO and beamforming antenna techniques • A description of the TD-LTE technology being deployed • An overview of the advantages of deploying MIMO beamforming in TD-LTE and the corresponding testing challenges to ensure success in these markets Spirent white paper • 2 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges MIMO Beamforming - Exploiting the Spatial Domain Traditional radio technologies have used the frequency and/or time domains in which to differentiate between streams of data. These differentiated data streams could be used for: • Multiplexing – differentiating between users • Duplexing – differentiating between uplink and downlink communications • Flexibility in data rates – modifying data rates by re-allocating resources in the time or frequency domains Figure 1: Legacy wireless technologies separated data streams in the time domain (e.g. TDMA), the frequency domain (AMPS), or both (GSM). Other domains (e.g. the code domain used in CDMA multiplexing) have been implemented but all were limited by the availability of finite time and frequency resources. MIMO technology exploits space as a domain in which to increase data rates or share time/frequency resources between users. 3 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges How the Spatial Domain Facilitates MIMO Beamforming A Brief Review of MIMO Imagine a 2x2 MIMO system deployed in a “rich scattering” environment… one in which there are a large number of reflections causing fading on radio signals. If two separate data streams are transmitted from separate antennas, each will encounter different fading effects en route to a pair of receiving antennas. If the receiver is able to use those differences in fading to distinguish between streams and disaggregate them from each other, the system should be able to transmit and demodulate two independent data streams in the same frequency band and at the same time. The process is analogous to solving two equations for two unknown variables... neither of the receiver’s antenna elements has enough information on its own to demodulate multiple streams, but the combination of information from multiple antenna elements does include sufficient information. Figure 2: MIMO enables the use of space as an “extra” domain in which data streams can be differentiated Since signal fading is a function of distance and location (i.e. a function of spatial parameters) space can be treated as a domain in which data streams can be disaggregated… even when neither stream is giving up resources in the time and frequency domain. Spirent white paper • 4 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Figure 3: 2x2 MIMO channel (conceptual) Intuitively the resulting MIMO system can be thought of as a pair of data “pipes” known as eigen channels (since the channels are based on the eigenvalues of the MIMO channel’s characteristic transfer matrix). The eigen channel capacity, or “sizes” of the pipes are proportional to the eigenvalues, and will therefore almost never be identical. In practice the two “pipes” can be allocated to a single user (increasing data rates) or, in the case of Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO), divided between two separate users to increase capacity. One other concept that must be understood intuitively is the idea of correlation. Doubling the capacity of a 2x2 MIMO channel requires that the four radio links (shown in Figure 3 as h11, h12, h21 and h22) exhibit a high degree of difference from each other based on experiencing different fading. This is called a low correlation between links. In a more rigorous discussion, correlation would be quantified as a scalar value between 0 and 1 (sometimes expressed as a percentage). Figure 4 depicts the concept of high and low correlation (based on fading) of two radio links. 5 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Figure 4: High (top) and low (bottom) degrees of correlation Since a MIMO system depends on fading differences experienced by separate data streams, it can best increase capacity when the channel (all four radio links) exhibits a low degree of correlation. A Brief Review of Beamforming Beamforming, on the other hand, relies on a high degree of correlation. In beamforming, multiple antennas transmit radio signals that are identical except for one thing: a beam is created and steered by adjusting the phase angles of the transmissions so that they are in phase (delivering high Signal-to-Noise Ratios, or SNRs) where good reception is desired. In this case the eigen channels are such that the system delivers one large data pipe alongside one or more very small data pipes. The latter go unused by the system as shown in Figure 5. Spirent white paper • 6 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Figure 5: Beamforming Critical points: • Beamforming is not necessarily characteristic of a MIMO system or a timedomain-based system. It can be and has been used in frequency-division based systems. • In order for the system to successfully create a beam, it has to have “knowledge” of the downlink RF channel. In a frequency-division based system this requires a complicated measurement-and-feedback process, making it a less attractive option. MIMO and Beamforming in a Single System It was noted earlier that a MIMO system can most effectively increase data rates and capacity when there is a low degree of correlation in the MIMO channel. In the earliest MIMO systems, low correlation was created by physically separating antenna elements. One MIMO “rule of thumb” is that a system can deliver low-correlation channels when antenna elements on both the transmitter and receiver sides of the system are separated by a distance of more than half the signal wavelength. This is not an option in cellular systems; at 700 MHz, for example, half a wavelength is greater than 20 cm… much too large to be implemented in a mobile phone form factor. Another way of ensuring low correlation in a MIMO system is to cross-polarize antenna elements on both the transmitter and receiver sides of the system… in other words, to physically orient antenna elements at right angles to each other. This not only enables MIMO in the cellular world, it enables the addition of beamforming to MIMO systems. 7 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Figure 6: Antenna element orientation in a MIMO beamforming system In Figure 6, four antenna elements at the transmitter (shown in orange in the left side of the figure) are designed and placed to create high correlation between their transmitted signals. By adjusting the phase characteristics of each of their signals, a beam is formed, creating areas of high SNRs. A second set of four antenna elements (shown in blue) are cross-polarized in relation to the first four. They also create a beam, but the two beams exhibit low correlation with each other. The result is a MIMO beamforming system that can deliver multiple data streams to a specific physical location. Transmission Modes Just as a non-beamforming MIMO system can deliver multiple modes (i.e. increasing data rates to a single user or splitting data “pipes” so they are used by different users) so can a MIMO beamforming system. Figure 7: MU-MIMO and SU-MIMO Spirent white paper • 8 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges The left side of Figure 7 depicts a MIMO beamforming system being used to serve multiple user signals at the same time, from the same cell and in the same frequency space. On the right side a Single User MIMO (SU-MIMO) system delivers multiple data streams or “layers” to a single user. Note that in cases where beamforming is used by the receiver rather than the transmitter, the “nulls” between lobes can be steered to reject interfering signals from known sources. The 3GPP has defined several downlink physical channel “transmission modes” to support different types of beamforming. Table 1 lists the 3GPP transmission modes (7, 8 and 9) that support beamforming along with relevant Downlink Control Information (DCI) and port assignments. Transmission Mode 7 7 8 8 9 9 DCI Format 1A 1 1A 2B 1A 2C Antenna Ports port 0 or TX diversity port 5 (virtual port) port 0 or TX diversity ports 7 and 8 (2-layer SU-MIMO); port 7 or 8 (1-layer MU-MIMO) port 7 port 7 or 8 Table 1: 3GPP beamforming transmission modes 9 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges TD-LTE – Exploiting the Time Domain Just as MIMO beamforming can exploit the spatial domain to create multiple data streams, TD-LTE itself exploits the time domain to perform duplexing. The introduction to this paper noted that one original driver for TD-LTE was the lower cost and global availability of single-band (unpaired) spectra as opposed to the dualband spectra required by Frequency-Division Duplexed (FDD) systems. However, timedivision duplexing is not just a matter of necessity; it offers several advantages over FDD systems, especially when paired with MIMO beamforming. By sharing a single frequency band for uplink and downlink, and by adjusting the number of time slots available in each direction, TDD-based systems offer a degree of flexibility in uplink/downlink resource allocation. For example, TD-LTE profiles include seven different frame structures (shown in Figure 8). Theoretically, TDD systems can dynamically re-allocate uplink/downlink resources on the fly, though initial TD-LTE deployments are unlikely to include this feature (due to technical considerations beyond the scope of this paper). Figure 8: Seven frame structures available in TD-LTE systems. Spirent white paper • 10 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Another advantage that eases the implementation of MIMO beamforming in a TDD system, is the concept of channel reciprocity. It was noted earlier that FDD systems can implement beamforming as long as there is a feedback loop from the terminal that informs the transmitter about the state of the downlink channel. TDD systems do not require that feedback loop; the RF channel state is a function of frequency, space and time. In TDD the uplink and downlink channels share the same frequency, occupy the same physical space and are separated by relatively insignificant slices of time. The TD-LTE uplink and downlink are “characteristically identical”. Figure 9 displays a close-up view (in terms of time) of a faded TDD radio channel. While the overall range of the faded signal can be fairly substantial, the differences in channel state from one time slot to the next are not. Channel State Channel State Time t Figure 9: The reciprocal channel in TDD systems As a result, channel estimation of the uplink can be used to make reasonable assumptions regarding downlink channel characteristics. Channel reciprocity in a single uplink/downlink frequency lends itself to a way of improving both coverage and system quality: MIMO beamforming. Early TD-LTE deployments plan to combine MIMO and beamforming, offering the advantages of higher data rates as well as capacity and quality improvement. A typical MIMO beamforming configuration can be thought of as a 2x2 MIMO system, except that each of the two transmitted “layers” is actually a steered beam formed by four transmitting antenna elements. This has led to growth in the study of 8 × n systems, where each base station is equipped with eight antenna elements, as a cost-efficient, spectrally-efficient alternative to the addition of cell sites or additional carriers. All of this creates an incredibly complex RF environment with significant development and test implications that must be addressed to ensure success in the rapidly emerging TD-LTE markets. 11 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Testing MIMO Beamforming Receivers The Challenges of RF Testing in TD-LTE MIMO Beamforming Given this fundamental understanding of the processes required in a TD-LTE MIMO beamforming system, some of the potential pitfalls in testing become obvious: 1.The number of radio links involved 2.The creation of a realistically-reciprocal channel 3. Phase accuracy 4. Accurate replication of advanced antenna techniques The Number of Radio Links The TD-LTE MIMO beamforming systems that are being developed and tested in Asia and elsewhere today are 8x2 systems. A plan exists to ramp up to 8x4 systems in the relatively near future. Release 10 includes provisions for 8x8 beamforming. An 8x2 system creates 16 separate radio links in each direction; an 8x4 system doubles that; a bi-directional 8x8 system of the future will require 128. Each link must not only be faithfully created on the test bench, the links must be managed so that test operators can set specific values of correlation. The Reciprocal Channel Figure 10 depicts a live TDD channel, which is naturally reciprocal for reasons already discussed. However, test equipment must deliver a level of control beyond that of the live environment, which means that uplink and downlink channels must be implemented separately. This implies that test equipment cannot deliver an accurate reproduction of the live environment unless it can deliver nearly identical channel states in both directions, at all times and on all the radio links being emulated. DL UL Figure 10: The reciprocal TDD channel Spirent white paper • 12 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Phase Accuracy The beamforming aspect of MIMO beamforming is entirely dependent on phase characteristics of the transmitted radio links. Therefore, accurate testing must include a high degree of phase accuracy. This is an important distinction between MIMO beamforming testing and testing non-beamforming MIMO receivers. Antenna Techniques As was discussed, polarization is highly critical in MIMO beamforming systems. The low correlation required by the MIMO aspect of the system is dependent on crosspolarization of the beams. Furthermore, since space is now a multiplexing domain, the angles at which the emulated links arrive at the receiver and are delivered from the transmitter are now critical parts of the RF environment. Another aspect that must be accurately replicated in a spatially-oriented system is the antenna pattern. As shown in Figure 11, this is far from uniform and is critical to system performance. Figure 11: Typical antenna pattern in a MIMO beamforming system 13 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Channel Models GSM, CDMA and most wireless technologies employed RF channel models known as “classical models”. They served for many years as accurate ways to replicate a radiated signal as seen by a radio receiver. Figure 12: Classical (left) and geometric (right) channel models Figure 12 shows why the classical model is insufficient for testing in MIMO or beamforming scenarios. As seen by a receiver’s antenna element, the field surrounding the element is uniform. Since a single-antenna narrow-band receiver can not make use of spatial information, this model is as good as any other. A wide-band MIMO system, on the other hand, must make use of spatial information in order to work. For the RF emulation to realistically reflect the real world the system must replicate all relevant angles of departure, angles of arrival and angle spreads, (i.e., geometric channel model in Figure 12). Noise A by-product of the polarization needed to reduce signal correlation is that it also reduces the power of the received signal. In addition, the directivity resulting from a realistic antenna pattern and the gain provided by beamforming must be accounted for as well. This has an effect on adding noise for testing purposes. Unlike an SISO environment, noise levels for testing are not simply a matter of adding a fixed value to the emulated inherent noise from the transmitter. Instead, additive noise used in testing must be based on: • The actual power as measured at each transmitting antenna element • The calculated loss between each transmitting antenna element and each receiving antenna element For MIMO beamforming testing, the calculated virtual output power must be used as the basis for adding noise. Spirent white paper • 14 TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Conclusion TD-LTE technology is an ideal upgrade wherever network operators own single-band spectrum originally intended for TD-SCDMA or WiMAX, or where lower-cost unpaired spectrum is available. Operators who intend to deploy TD-LTE have resolved to use MIMO techniques to exploit space as a domain in which to multiplex data streams. These MIMO systems also employ beamforming, a technique which optimizes coverage by concentrating power where coverage is needed most. This is especially important in Asian markets, where operators must optimize coverage due to pockets of high population density. This paper discussed the drivers behind MIMO beamforming. At a conceptual level this paper examined the techniques involved and included information intended to help developers ensure success in deploying MIMO beamforming base stations and UEs. Receiver test requirements for MIMO beamforming present a series of unique technical challenges as outlined in this paper. These challenges must be considered in the development and testing phases of a product’s lifecycle. With the goal of isolating performance issues as early as possible in research and development, device engineers must have the ability to replicate the complete real-world spatial channel conditions of even the most complex environments in MIMO beamforming. Automatic phase calibration, accurate creation of spatial channel models and support for 8 x n bi-directional MIMO, including MU-MIMO, are essential features for testing MIMO beamforming. Spirent’s MB5 MIMO Beamforming Test System is specifically designed for this purpose. With years of experience in creating realistic RF environments, Spirent is well positioned to provide a test solution that addresses all areas required to ensure the successful deployment of TD-LTE and MIMO beamforming. 15 • Spirent white paper TD-LTE and MIMO Beamforming Principles and Test Challenges Acronyms AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System CDMA Code Division Multiple Access DCI Downlink Control Information FDD Frequency-Division Duplexing GSM Global System for Mobile Communications MIMO Multiple-Input Multiple-Output MU-MIMO Multi-User MIMO RF Radio Frequency SISO Single-Input Single-Output SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio SU-MIMO Single-User MIMO TDD Time Division Duplexing TD-LTE Time Domain Long-Term Evolution TDMA Time Division Multiple Access TD-SCDMA Time Domain Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access UE User Equipment Spirent white paper • 16