Entering  the  Era  of  Small  Cells  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     BY:          

Sten  E.  Gunnarsson,  Ph.D.,  R&D  Team  at  Sivers  IMA                                            September  2015  

 

   

 

 

Introduction  

Millimeter   wave   technology   has   traditionally   been   considered   an   interest   for   advanced  research   applications   such   as   astronomy   and  military,   but   is   now   starting   to   evolve   into  commodity  thanks  to  the  introduction  of  highly  integrated  components  in  the  open  market.  This  has   facilitated  the  use  and  design  of  millimeter  wave  equipment.  There  are  however  many  issues  remaining  in  order  to  efficiently  handle  the  performance  to  price  challenge.    Sten  E.  Gunnarsson  holds  a  PhD  in  millimeter  wave  design  and  has  a  long  experience  in  the  telecom  industry.  Sten  is  part  of  the  design  team  at  Sivers  IMA  and  participates  in  several  EU   led   FP7   projects,   including   the   E3Networks,   DOTSEVEN   and  MiWaveS1.   In   this   paper,  Sten   leads  us   through  market   challenges   and  possible   solutions,   as  we  are   about   to   fully  enter  the  era  of  small  cells.  

Background  

Telecom  operators  are  under  continuous  pressure  to  provide  ever  more  capacity  at   lower  cost.  According  to  the  Ericsson  Mobility  June  Report  video  traffic  will  grow  by  55  per  cent  per  year  until  2020,  while  Huawei’s  Global  Connectivity   Index   indicates   that  by  2025,   the  number  of  Internet  of  Things  devices  installed  will  require  100  billion  connections.  The  era  of  data  caps,  limited  coverage,  and  service  restrictions  is  coming  to  a  close  as  applications  such   as   mobile   high   definition   video,   conference   applications   and   gaming   are   becoming  common,  enabled  by  devices  such  as  smartphones  and  tablets.  Suppliers  of   infrastructure  equipment  to  network  operators  are  thus  also  under  pressure  to  deliver  solutions  for  these  demands.  The  access  network  is  naturally  a  large  part  of  the  question,  but  backhaul  to  the  access   network   can   also   be   a   bottleneck   in   providing   capacity.   Massive   future   proof  capacity  is  available  via  fiber,  but  this  is  not  always  an  option,  due  to  physical  restrictions,  or  due  to  installation  cost.  Wireless  backhaul  can  provide  a  robust  and  flexible  alternative,  and  has   long  been  a  good  alternative   in  many  situations.  Wireless  backhaul   technology   is  rapidly  advancing,  with  up  to  10  Gbps  now  possible  using  advance  System  on  Chip  modems.  

Challenges                                                                                                                  

1  Current  EU  funded  projects  where  Sivers  IMA  take  part:  

E3Network  FP7  Project:  Energy  Efficient  E-­‐band  Transceiver  for  the  Backhaul  of  Future  Networks.  A  project  with  objective  to  develop  a  backhaul  technology  that  will  strengthen  the  position  of  European  Industry  in  field  of  network  infrastructure  technology.  

DOTSEVEN:  Towards  0.7  Terahertz  Silicon  Germanium  Heterojunction  Bipolar  Technology.  A  project  with  main  objective  to  reinforce  and  further  strengthen  Europe’s  leading  edge  position  in  SiGe  HBT  technology  and  modeling  as  well  as  SiGe  enabled  mm-­‐wave  applications  so  as  to  stay  significantly  ahead  of  non-­‐European  competition.  The  consortium  consists  of  14  partners  from  industry  and  academia  in  6  European  countries.  

MiWaveS:  The  European  collaborative  project  is  developing  millimeter-­‐wave  wireless  communication  technologies  for  future  5th  Generation  heterogeneous  cellular  mobile  networks.  

Entering the era of small cells by Sten E Gunnarsson, Ph.D., R&D team at Sivers IMA  

Frequency  Spectrum  -­  a  limited  resource    The   increased   demand   for   capacity   will   obviously   demand   higher   requirements   of   the  backhaul.   There   is   however   limited   availability   of   frequency   spectrum.   This   in   turn  encourages   that  one   take  advantage  of   the  mm-­‐wave   frequency  bands  at  60  and  70   -­‐  80  GHz,  what  we  call  the  V-­‐  and  E-­‐band,  where  wide  bandwidth  is  still  available.    

Shorter  product  life  cycles  and  Increased  price  pressure  Technology  development  cycles  keep  getting  shorter  and  shorter,  and  the  prices  customers  are  willing  to  pay  for  hardware  keep  falling.  Telecom  suppliers  are  therefore  under  pressure  to  deliver  more  for  less.    A  tough  challenge  as  cost  of  developing  products  to  be  used  in  the  V-­‐   and   E-­‐band   frequencies   is   high,   both   in   terms   of   engineering   hours   and   in  instrumentation.    

Market  uncertainty    The   fact   that   the  market   for  V-­‐   and  E-­‐band   radio   links  has  not   yet   taken  off   as   expected  makes   the   decision   to   start   developing   such   products   risky   for   individual   radio   link  manufacturers.  Despite   the  missed  historical   forecasts,  all  present  data   indicates   that   the  mm-­‐wave  market   will   most   definitely   grow   significant   in   the   immediate   future.  When   it  does  take  off,  all  suppliers  will  have  to  be  prepared  and  ready  to  go.  

Worldwide  millimeter  wave  equipment  market  

Over   the   past   few   years,   the  market   for  millimeter  wave   equipment   has   been   small   but  stable.   It   is  now  starting  to  truly   take  off.  Prognoses   for   the  upcoming  three  to   five  years  show  strong  growth  for  products  in  the  E-­‐  and  V-­‐band  frequencies.  

 

 Source:  Infonetics  Research  2014  

   

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

W-­‐‑band  75-­‐‑110  GHz

E-­‐‑band  70  -­‐‑90  GHz  (licensed)

V-­‐‑band  60  GHz  (unlicensed)

 

Macro  cell  vs.  Small  cell  backhaul  Outdoor  Small  Cell   Equipment  dominates  millimeter  wave  backhaul  market.  Outcome   for  2013  compared  to  forecast  for  2018  

   YEAR  2013    

     YEAR  2018  

 Source:  Infonetics  Research  2014  

 

   

Macrocell  backhaul78%

Small  cell  backhaul

7%

Access11%

Transport4%

Macrocell  backhaul37%

Small  cell  backhaul59%

Access3%

Transport1%

Entering the era of small cells by Sten E Gunnarsson, Ph.D., R&D team at Sivers IMA  

Different  challenges  depending  on  company  

Suppliers   of   radio   link   equipment   can   be   divided   into   three   categories   depending   on  company  size,  each  facing  significantly  different  challenges  and  needs.  

 

 

   The   small   and  new  manufacturers   normally   have   limited   resources   and  experience  with  mm-­‐wave  technology;  a  major  obstacle  for  the  development  of  mm-­‐wave  radio  link.      

 The  medium  sized  manufacturers  need  to  concentrate  all  efforts  on  the  frequencies  that  most  likely  will  return  on  their  investments.  Therefore,  the  mm-­‐wave  radios  are  often  down  prioritized  since  the  resources  are  limited  and  focused  on  the  products  that  sell  in  larger  volumes.    

 

The  large  manufactures  deliver  equipment  in  big  numbers  for  all  frequencies.  Since  the   number   of   delivered  mm-­‐wave   radio   links   is   small,   the   development   of   such  products   is  of   lower  priority  and   is  a  disturbance  of  day-­‐to-­‐day  activities.  However  these  operators  need  a  full  product  portfolio  including  mm-­‐wave  radios.      

Given   shrinking   spectrum  availability   combined  with   the   ever   increased  demand   for   data  capacity,   radio   link   manufacturers   should   consider   having   mm-­‐wave   products   in   their  product  portfolio  -­‐  regardless  of  company  size.      

 

M   L  S  SMALL          MEDIUM                  LARGE  

L  

S  

M  

 

The  Sivers  IMA  solution  

Sivers   IMA's   mm-­‐wave   converters   are   designed   as   plug   and   play,   with   a   minimum   of  engineering  hours  and  testing,  offering  radio  link  manufacturers  customized  solutions.        Sivers   IMA   provides   reliable,   market-­‐ready   converters   as   well   as   transceiver   solutions  backed  with  experienced  competence  in  radio  link  systems.  As  the  core  technology  of  the  converters  is  based  on  a  proprietary  SiGe  chipset,  the  customer  can  influence  the  features  and  interface  of  the  converter  down  to  chip  level.      All   products   are   tested   and   qualified   before   delivery.   As   the   interfaces   are  well   defined,  consistent  performance  can  be  certified  by  Sivers   IMA,   in   contrast   to   solutions   in   surface  mount   or   chip-­‐level   packages.   The   converters   are   designed   to   be   used   with   modems  optimized  for  operation  in  the  V-­‐  and/or  E-­‐band,  to  allow  use  of  up  to  2  GHz  IF  bandwidth.      Using  converters  from  Sivers  IMA  reduces  investments  both  in  time  and  development  costs,  due   to   the   fact   that   development   and   testing   are   easily   performed   and   require   no,   or  minimum,  experience  from  mm-­‐wave  frequencies.                

 

 

   

 

   Image  1:  Sivers  IMA  Converter  

   

   

 

Entering the era of small cells by Sten E Gunnarsson, Ph.D., R&D team at Sivers IMA  

Addressing  different  challenges  

Small  Size  companies  Sivers  IMA  allows  small  and  new  companies  to  enter  the  mm-­‐wave  market  without  having  to  invest  heavily  in  expertize,  hardware  resources  and  production.  This  opens  a  market  that  would  otherwise  be  not  be  reachable  without  large  risk.    

Mid  size  companies  To  medium  sized  companies  Sivers  IMA  offers  complementing  solutions  to  strengthen  their  product  portfolio   in  order  to  maximize  their  market   impact.  These  products  minimize  risk  and  reduce  time  to  market.  It  also  decreases  the  need  for  investment  in  new  resources  and  instrumentation  as  well  as  production  equipment.  

Large  size  companies  Sivers   IMA   offer   a   generic   converter   for   fast   integration   in   existing   platforms   which  facilitates  a  faster  time  to  market  in  the  early  stages  of  the  product  lifecycle.        

Sivers  IMA  Core  Technology  

Compared  to  pre-­‐packaged  solutions  with  little  flexibility  available  for  changing  the  product  to  suit   the  exact  customer  specifications,   the  new  generation  converters   from  Sivers   IMA  provide  easy  to  use  and  flexible  technology  allowing  for  example  changing  the  LO,  if  lower  phase  noise  is  needed.    Sivers   IMA's   extensive   experience   with   mm-­‐wave   products   has   been   fully   utilized   in  development  of  its  propriety  SiGe  RFIC.  This,  in  combination  with  a  thorough  understanding  of  microwave   radio  manufacturers’   requirements   for   functionality   and   performance,   has  led   to   a   very   competitive   product.   Tens   of   thousands   of   development   hours   and   large  investments   in   production   of   RFICs   and   instrumentation   ensures   problem-­‐free   operation  and  a  high  product  quality.    

 

Image  2:  Sivers  IMA  SiGe  chip  

 

The   modules   are   designed   as   plug   and   play,   bringing   not   only   savings   in   customer’s  development   time,  but  also   time  saved   in  production,  as  Sivers   IMA's  products  are  delivered,  tested  and  ready  for  use.    View  data  sheets:  FC2121E01  E-­‐band  Converter  71-­‐76  GHz  TX  FC2121E02  E-­‐band  Converter  81-­‐86  GHz  TX  FC2221E01  E-­‐band  Converter  71-­‐76  GHz  RX  FC2221E02  E-­‐band  Converter  81-­‐86  GHz  RX  

 

Glossary  and  notes  

SiGe  Chip   Silicon  Germanium  Chip  RFIC     Radio  Frequency  Integrated  Circuit    V-­‐band     Frequency  bands  at  58-­‐63  GHz  E-­‐band     Frequency  bands  at  71-­‐76  &  81-­‐86  GHz  W-­‐band     Frequency  bands  at  75-­‐110  GHz    

Contact  Details  

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