Our objective is to realize the next order of magnitude in rate, directionality, and range, targeting both direct line-of-sight (LOS) paths and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) paths that must penetrate objects. We propose to both explore the underlying foundations and to design and implement proof-of-concept systems to (i) realize a WLAN architecture that scales to Tb/sec via networked mm-wave antennas that form a large effective aperture and (ii) fuse diverse spectral bands spanning two orders of magnitude in order to scale client array size, and subsequently capacity, beyond the physical constraints of the device. Namely, we propose the following two integrated research thrusts.
- Development and fabrication of a wide aperture millimeter wave interconnect with pico-second scale synchronization by combining widely-spaced radiating elements into a synchronized and coherent line-of-sight spatially multiplexed transmission.
- Enabling long-range spatially multiplexed object-penetrating links by coupling the millimeter wave interconnect (operating at 30 GHz to 300 GHz) with legacy bands (500 MHz to 5 GHz), and exploiting the diverse properties of spectrum spanning two orders of magnitude (100 times or 100x) to spoof legacy-band MIMO infrastructure into performing full-rank transmission and reception even for devices with a single legacy-band antenna.