Beamforming Related
Definition
Category
- The beamforming is mainly categorized as analog and digital.
In analog beamforming, amplitude and phase variation is applied on analog signal to be transmitted over the air.
In digital beamforming, amplitude and phase variation is applied on digital signal befor DAC (Digital to Analog Conversion) at transmitter side. - Beamforming can also be divided into two types viz. active and passive beamforming based on positions of RF power amplifiers, RF LNAs and radio transceivers.
- Active Beamforming: Beamforming architecture in which RF amplifiers are used as internal elements of an antenna array is known as active beamforming array.
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Passive Beamforming: Beamforming architecture in which amplifiers or radios are used as external elements of an antenna array is known as passive beamforming array.
Following are the benefits or advantages of passive beamforming.
• It consumes low DC power compare to active beamforming as electronic amplifiers are not used.
• The antenna array architecture is simple and straightforward.
Following are the drawbacks or disadvantages of passive beamforming,
• The antenna panel is larger in size due to intrinsic losses of LC elements and PCB materials used.
• It provides slower beam switching due to higher time response of LC molecules. This leads to temporary interruption of user terminal to satellite radio link during handover process.
• Molecular response time depends on operating temperature. Hence this beamforming array requires extra heater to maintain operating temperature and system performance under extreme environment.
Knowledge from the following link
https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/Active-Beamforming-vs-Passive-Beamforming.html
