Millimeter-Wave Communication Testbed Using Digital Coding Dynamic Metasurface Antenna: Practical Design and Implementation

TL;DR

This paper presents a practical design and implementation of a millimeter-wave communication testbed using digital coding dynamic metasurface antennas, enabling real-time beam steering and multi-beam transmission for next-generation wireless networks.

Contribution

It introduces a novel DMA-assisted mmWave communication platform with real-time beamforming and multi-beam capabilities, demonstrated through high-frequency video transmission.

Findings

Successful real-time QPSK video transmission at 62 GHz

Multi-beam transmission to two receivers achieved accurate demodulation

Potential applications include mmWave backhaul and MIMO base stations

Abstract

Dynamic Metasurface Antennas (DMAs) are transforming reconfigurable antenna technology by enabling energy-efficient, cost-effective beamforming through programmable meta-elements, eliminating the need for traditional phase shifters and delay lines. This breakthrough technology is emerging to revolutionize beamforming for next-generation wireless communication and sensing networks. In this paper, we present the design and real-world implementation of a DMA-assisted wireless communication platform operating in the license-free 60 GHz millimeter-wave (mmWave) band. Our system employs high-speed binary-coded sequences generated via a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), enabling real-time beam steering for spatial multiplexing and independent data transmission. A proof-of-concept experiment successfully demonstrates high-definition quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulated video transmission at 62 GHz. Furthermore, leveraging the DMA's multi-beam capability, we simultaneously transmit video to two spatially separated receivers, achieving accurate demodulation. We envision the proposed mmWave testbed as a platform for enabling the seamless integration of sensing and communication by allowing video transmission to be replaced with sensing data or utilizing an auxiliary wireless channel to transmit sensing information to multiple receivers. This synergy paves the way for advancing integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) in beyond-5G and 6G networks. Additionally, our testbed demonstrates potential for real-world use cases, including mmWave backhaul links and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) mmWave base stations.