5G Technology

125G RF Design Challenges

Petri Vasenkari¹, Dominique Brunel², and Laurent Noël³

¹Nokia Bell Labs, Finland

²Skyworks, France

³Skyworks, Canada

CHAPTER MENU

1. Introduction
2. Impact of New Physical Layer on RF Performance
3. 5G Standalone Performance Aspects in Frequency Range 1
4. 5G Standalone Performance Aspects in mmWave Frequency Range 2
5. Dual Uplink Performance Challenges for NSA Operation
6. Examples of UE Implementation Challenges
7. Summary
8. References

12.1 Introduction

5G brings changes compared to Long‐Term Evolution (LTE) for the user equipment (UE) radio frequency (RF) design aspects in many ways. There is larger bandwidth with higher bandwidth occupancy, and there is dual connectivity with two uplink (UL) transmissions as baseline feature as well as operation with higher frequency bands than LTE could achieve. This chapter covers the impacts on the UE RF design from both standalone 5G as well as from the dual connectivity perspective, considering the large number of frequency bands that must be supported. Also, the impacts originating from mmW support, including the need for Over the Air Testing (OTA), is covered. This chapter concludes with an analysis of the multi‐band as well as mmW UE implementation issues, including mmW UE antenna placement considerations.

12.2 Impact of New Physical Layer on RF Performance

12.2.1 New Uplink Waveforms

In 5G New Radio (NR), a number of innovations have targeted improvements in the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) waveforms:

• Variable subcarrier ...