Why white noise is not enough? On using radio front-end models while designing 6G PHY

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of incorporating radio front-end models, including hardware distortions, into 6G physical layer design to meet high spectral and energy efficiency demands, challenging traditional layered approaches.

Contribution

It introduces the need for cross-layer design considerations that account for hardware nonlinearities in 6G transceiver architectures, moving beyond white noise assumptions.

Findings

Hardware distortions significantly impact 6G transceiver performance.

Cross-layer design can improve spectral and energy efficiency.

Traditional white noise models are insufficient for 6G design.

Abstract

From generation to generation there are increasing requirements for wireless standards both in terms of spectral and energy efficiency. While up to now the layered wireless transceiver architecture worked allowing for, e.g., separation of channel decoding algorithms from front-end design, this may need reconsideration in the 6G era. Especially the hardware-originated distortions have to be taken into account while designing other layer algorithms as the high throughput and energy efficiency requirements will push these devices to their limit revealing their nonlinear characteristics. This position paper will shed some light on new degrees of freedom while cross-layer designing and controlling multicarrier and multiantenna transceivers of 6G systems.