What is Holographic Beam Forming™?
Holographic beamforming enables wireless service providers to continuously reuse the same band of spectrum, at the same time, within a given spatial region. Like several narrow, high-intensity spotlights illuminating discrete objects in a theater, beamforming antennas can focus their radiated energy on separate targets without illuminating adjacent users. Unlike current cellular systems that utilize antennas that form 60-90 degree stationary sector beams, narrow beamforming permits a more focused communications protocol between base station and user. This technique preserves the spectral hygiene of the sector and allows for multiple concurrent transmissions using the same frequency without interference, thus allowing for abundant spectrum reuse with higher intensity signals delivered to both stationary and mobile users.
Beam forming with antennas is not a new technique. Phased array antennas have been used for nearly 70 years in the military domain to great effect. More recently, MIMO antenna techniques are being explored for digital beam forming. However, such technologies are impossibly expensive for commercial use. The cost of array elements drives the system cost for any beam forming array. MIMO arrays require a full DSP radio behind every element. Phased arrays require a phase shifter and power amplifier for every element. These approaches are costly, power hungry and drive toward unattractive, bulky form factors.
Holographic Beam Forming requires only a single, simple, biased control component like a varactor or transistor at each element. This leads to a cost advantage of over 50x against MIMO or Phased Arrays. The elegant holographic method transforms an incoming RF signal into dynamic, rapidly steerable beam by manipulating the bias state of the control components.
The Holographic Beam Forming technique can be used to enhance the performance of wireless links of all types. Radio access networks, access in motion, broadband wireless access, and tactical communications will all benefit from low C-SWaP (Cost, Size, Weight and Power), high performance holographic beam formers from Pivotal.