On 3D Cluster-Based Channel Modeling for Large-Scale Array Communications

With the rapid development of wireless communications, the understanding of three-dimensional (3D) propagation channels becomes essential for design and testing of some new wireless technologies, e.g., massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and full dimensional beamforming. To not only fully exploit the 3D multiplexing but also circumvent the size limitation of base station (BS), antenna elements in massive MIMO are usually arranged both horizontally and vertically. Based on an elaborate channel measurement campaign conducted at 11 GHz in a lobby environment, a 3D extended cluster-based channel model is proposed in this paper for massive multiple-input single-output (MISO) multi-user communications. In the model, the channel characteristics in both azimuth and elevation dimensions, and the visibility regions which are parametrized by observed cluster lengths across the large-scale array in both horizontal and vertical directions, are taken into consideration. Moreover, the spherical wavefront phenomenon observed from the measurements is also incorporated in the model. Model parametrization, implementation, and validation are presented in detail. Validations show that the proposed model can accurately reflect the realistic channel, and the spatial non-stationarity and the spherical wavefront should be carefully considered in the channel models for large-scale array communications.