View article

Hybrid beamforming (HBF) array structure has been extensively demonstrated as the practically feasible architecture for massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). From the perspectives of spectral efficiency (SE), energy efficiency (EE), cost, and hardware complexity, HBF strikes a balanced performance tradeoff when compared with the fully analog and the fully digital implementations. Using the HBF architecture, it is possible to realize three different subarray structures, specifically the fully connected, the subconnected and the overlapped subarray structures. This paper presents a novel generalized framework for the design and performance analysis of the HBF architecture. A parameter, known as the subarray spacing, is introduced such that varying its value leads to the different subarray configurations and the consequent changes in the system performance. Using a realistic power consumption model, we …