60 GHz Millimetre-Wave Channel Characterisation for Indoor Office Environments

Abstract

A 60 GHz swept-tone channel sounder with 1 GHz measurement bandwidth has been developed. The sounder has been used to analyse millimetre-wave propagation in a compact indoor office environment. Profiles of the power angle-of-arrival have been measured for a number of different transmitter and receiver configurations to identify the dominant propagation paths. It was found that the power carried on specular single-and double-bounce reflections from objects in the office (e.g., door frames and whiteboards) are typically 15-20 dB below that carried on the line-of-sight (LOS) path. A further experiment with an absorber phantom (representing the human body) showed the LOS path can be readily shadowed at 60 GHz. However, the attenuation introduced by an internal wall consisting of drywall mounted on timber frames was measured to be between 11- 22 dB, leading to the conclusion that internal walls may be insufficient to isolate co-channel systems if the LOS path is otherwise occluded.