SABER: Smart Antenna for Beamforming Electromagnetic Radiation
The power of focus and speed
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Today’s cellular networks saturated by billions of mobile devices, from cell phones to sensors to machines, and bandwidth-hungry activities like real-time streaming of HD videos or multi-player Pokémon GO. The current network architecture doesn’t support the 5G goal of providing 1000x the speed of 4G.
Metawave’s SABER™ antenna is designed to focus radio frequency beams and rapidly direct it towards a specific user’s device.
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TECHNICAL EXPLANATION
Today’s cellular network architecture uses MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennas, underpinned by digital beamforming (DBF). The network deals with high bandwidth demands by blasting users’ signals over a large cone (typically 120-degree cone angle). The drawback is that spreading signals over a large area results in a loss of energy (and connectivity), and leads to signal interference with other users. The solution is to use simple and low-cost adaptive antenna arrays.
Metawave’s SABER™ is optimal because of its adjustable beam (with very low side lobes), which can be focused and steered in real-time over wide angles and with large bandwidths from 4G to 5G frequencies. The SABER™ architecture eliminates the need for expensive and power-hungry phase shifters, as it’s phase shifting architecture is realized by proprietary adaptive metamaterials—leveraging leading-edge optimization and control algorithms.
SABER™ uses antenna polarization and spatial multiplexing to cost-effectively scale the network—pushing higher data speeds and supporting a large of number of users within the cell. By using a single feed, SABER™ supports emerging frequencies where hundreds of expensive radios would otherwise be required to beamform and steer the signal. In addition, SABER’s architecture seamlessly integrates with the wireless and network algorithms (e.g., hybrid analog/digital beamforming, nulling, and MIMO in line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight with multipath interference).