Millimeter-Wave Propagation Modeling and Measurement

Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication is one of the most promising technologies in fifth generation (5G) mobile networks due to its access to a large amount of available spectrum resources. Despite the theoretical potential of a high data rate, there are still several key technical challenges with using mmWave in mobile networks, such as severe pathloss, high penetration loss, narrow beamwidth, etc. Hence, accurate and reliable knowledge of mmWave channel propagation characteristics is essential for developing 5G wireless communication systems. In this article, the fundamental characteristics of mmWave are first presented. Then, two main channel modeling methods are discussed. Finally, in order to investigate the channel characteristics at the mmWave band, measurement campaigns using three different large-scale array topologies are carried out and the typical channel parameters are extracted and analyzed.