Oscillator Phase Noise and Small-Scale Channel Fading in Higher Frequency Bands

TL;DR

This paper examines how oscillator phase noise and small-scale channel fading impact high-frequency communication systems above 10GHz, highlighting their relative severity based on system parameters and application scenarios.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of phase noise and channel models, along with bounds on oscillator quality, and analyzes their effects on system performance at high frequencies.

Findings

Channel variations are more severe at high relative velocities.

Phase noise impact increases with higher center frequencies and bandwidths.

Low power CMOS oscillators cause more performance degradation than GaN HEMT oscillators.

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of oscillator phase noise and channel variations due to fading on the performance of communication systems at frequency bands higher than 10GHz. Phase noise and channel models are reviewed and technology-dependent bounds on the phase noise quality of radio oscillators are presented. Our study shows that, in general, both channel variations and phase noise can have severe effects on the system performance at high frequencies. Importantly, their relative severity depends on the application scenario and system parameters such as center frequency and bandwidth. Channel variations are seen to be more severe than phase noise when the relative velocity between the transmitter and receiver is high. On the other hand, performance degradation due to phase noise can be more severe when the center frequency is increased and the bandwidth is kept a constant, or when oscillators based on low power CMOS technology are used, as opposed to high power GaN HEMT based oscillators.