2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)
Figures of Merit for Active Antenna Enabled 5G
Communication Networks
Jan M. McKinnis Dr. Ian Gresham
Ball Aerospace Anokiwave, Inc
Westminster, CO, USA Billerica, MA, USA
jmckinni@ball.com ian.gresham@anokiwave.com
Abstract—Active antennas enable novel spatial techniques
and beam-forming technology crucial to overcoming millimeter
wave propagation challenges for fifth generation (5G)
communication systems. At millimeter wave frequencies, a large
effective aperture can be accommodated in a physically small
area to overcome the high channel loss in these spectrum bands.
The ability to dynamically steer and shape active antenna
beam(s) to track users, overcome changing channel conditions,
and focus the radiated energy into the desired direction provides
additional degrees of flexibility and enables better performance
for 5G radio system designs. To provide an over-the-air interface
for previous generations of radio access networks, traditional
architectures have relied upon separate, passive antennas
connected by radio frequency cables to active radio transceivers.
Active antenna systems, also known as phased array antenna
systems, are an advancement from these previous radio access
architectures. To implement an active antenna, a array of active
radiating elements is utilized to combine passive antenna
functions with active amplification and signal conditioning
capabilities. Active antennas are an enabling technology for
millimeter wave 5G communication systems that create a
fundamental architecture shift requiring new Figures of Merit
(FoMs). The 5G active antenna FoMs defined in this paper
provide methods for antenna performance comparisons and
wireless system evaluation.
Keywords—Active antennas, phased arrays, planar
electronically steered arrays (ESA), 5G, New Radio (NR), Figures
of Merit, spatial techniques, beam steering, beam forming, error
vector magnitude (EVM), millimeter wave, radio networks, mobile
communications
I. INTRODUCTION
To support a wide variety of new applications and market
opportunities, fifth generation (5G) wireless systems must
provide far higher data rates than previous communication
networks. Unlocking more bandwidth and improving
efficiency is required to deliver these higher data rates.
Bandwidth is available in the millimeter wave spectrum, but
propagation challenges at these frequencies will compel the
wireless industry to implement innovative technologies.
For the next-generation, millimeter wave, multi-gigabit
networks, it is essential for radio access technologies to use
new spatial techniques. Dynamic beam management and beam-
forming active phased array antenna systems are revolutionary
changes that are rapidly coming to the wireless industry.
XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE
978-1-5386-4584-0/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
Randy Becker
Keysight Technologies
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
randy_becker@keysight.com
Active antennas are software-enabled, adaptive systems
that combine antenna capabilities with a number of transceiver
functions. These active antenna systems will fundamentally
alter the relationship between antenna and radio, requiring
novel over-the-air (OTA) test methods and performance
metrics. New 5G active antenna figures of merit (FoMs) are
required to allow comparison of various solutions and predict
system performance.
II. 5G MARKET DEMANDS
The communication industry and the 3rd Generation
Partnership Project (3GPP) are actively planning for a new,
wirelessly connected 5G world [1] [2] [3] [4]. Previous
wireless applications have primarily focused on connecting
people and allowing users mobile access to the internet. The
5G vision of the future dramatically expands on these past
efforts to develop systems that will also rapidly and reliably
connect an extremely large number of things to other things
(also referred to as machine-to-machine communication).
Novel wireless applications and verticals are being developed
to implement concepts such as connected cars, massive mobile
broadband, virtual and augmented reality, Internet of Things
(IoT), remote manufacturing, and remote health care. These
new markets will demand reducing latency and increasing data
rates by orders of magnitude. The requirement for significantly
more data capacity is driving 5G radio access technologies into
the higher frequency millimeter wave spectrum to access the
large amount of bandwidth available. Operating in the
millimeter wave spectrum presents technical challenges.
Higher transmission losses due to blockage, non-line of sight
conditions, and increased atmospheric, material (e.g., foliage,
buildings), and weather-related propagation losses will require
beam-forming antennas to achieve robust and flexible
coverage.
The wireless industry has announced near-term plans for
commercial 5G deployments utilizing millimeter wave
spectrum. The industry is aggressively evaluating innovative
solutions, and millimeter wave active antennas are rapidly
becoming an essential, enabling technology for next-generation
base stations, small cells, customer premise equipment (CPE),
and supporting channel sounding test equipment.
 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)
III. ACTIVE ANTENNA TECHNOLOGY AND BENEFITS
Active phased array antennas have been widely used for a
variety of purposes ranging from medical imaging to military
applications. Active antennas are composed of an array of
active radiating elements. By controlling the signal phase at
each element, a combined, highly directive beam can be
created. The resulting beam is electronically steered, so it can
be rapidly pointed from one desired direction to the next
without mechanical motion. To support 5G applications, active
antennas will integrate phase and amplitude control stages for
both transmit and receive paths. An active antenna’s radiation
performance is determined by a combination of the hardware
implementation choices and its commanding software.
Active phased array antenna technology provides numerous
advantages [5] [6] [7]. Electronic beam steering supports fast,
agile, and accurate beam pointing to meet the low latency
requirements of 5G. Array technology is scalable to meet
various connectivity demands. Increasing the number of
radiating elements will improve receive sensitivity and increase
transmitted radiated power. By properly applying amplitude
and phase tapers across the radiating elements, active phased
array antennas can be software controlled to generate narrower
beam widths for individual data channels and wider beam
widths for control channels. Focused narrow beams will
control interference and maximize a user’s signal-to-noise ratio
to improve data throughput and thus optimize network
performance. Wider beams allow flexibility for the control
channels, which are required to maintain radio links, to be
broadcast to the many users in a serving cell’s coverage area.
Array tapers can also be applied to control sidelobe levels to
reduce radiation outside the desired main beam. Sidelobe
control can be used to decrease network-level interference,
resulting in improved link quality, increased wireless channel
availability, and improved system capacity. At millimeter wave
frequencies, active antennas are compact, lightweight, and easy
to install. Their small physical volume provides an easier path
to satisfying site installation restrictions and the various local
planning laws and regulatory board requirements. Higher
reliability is made possible since active antennas have a
distributed amplifier architecture. Active antennas support 5G
beam management and network densification requirements to
maximize the reuse of spectrum, provide spatial reuse, and
enable higher performance communication systems utilizing
greater bandwidths.
IV. 5G ACTIVE ANTENNA FIGURES OF MERIT
A set of 5G active antenna FoMs is defined below to
provide for objective performance comparisons across various
active antenna technologies and facilitate performance
evaluation of wireless networks employing these antennas.
A. Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)
For an active antenna, P1dB EIRP can be defined as power
transmitted with the main beam scanned to boresight and the
antenna’s power level specified at the output referenced 1dB
compression point (OP1dB). Saturated output power (PSAT) is
another power term used in wireless link budgets as a measure
of available radiated power from the antenna aperture. PSAT
influences the upper limit for available signal power from the
transmitter and therefore the feasible maximum for the EIRP.
However, the saturated output power level is strongly
technology and design dependent, whereas the output 1dB
compression point is a standard, unambiguous reference point
that facilitates comparison of various systems that will likely
operate at different transmit back-off values from OP1dB. Care
should be taken in drawing comparative values since either
PSAT or OP1dB could be used in the definition of available
EIRP. PSAT is often considered more relevant for transmitter
systems where some form of pre-distortion algorithm is used to
reduce the required level of output power back-off (OBO).
EIRP = Pt + Gt + 10*log10 (N) – L (1)
Pt: Conducted power per element (OP1dB in dBm)
determined with a continuous wave (CW) stimulus
Gt: Total antenna array directivity due to spatial power
combining of all radiating elements (dBi)
N: Total number of radiating elements
L: Total losses from element amplifier output to radiating
surface (includes path loss after signal amplification, through
radome losses)
Larger EIRP values enable higher data throughputs and
better link quality at the edge of cell coverage. This can
translate directly into both cell size and data throughput to the
operator and therefore has a direct link to remuneration.
Table 1 provides measured P1dB EIRP values for two
product classes of 28GHz active antenna developed jointly by
Ball Aerospace and Anokiwave.
TABLE I. MEASURED TRANSMIT PERFORMANCE FOR 28GHZ ACTIVE
ANTENNAS
P1dB EIRP TXeff
28GHz Active Antenna
(dBm) (1/cm^3)
64 Element 50 0.015
256 Element 60 0.007
A second, equally important measure is Linear EIRP,
which is defined by the amount of OBO from OP1dB required
to meet an error vector magnitude (EVM) threshold. The
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
waveforms specified by 5G New Radio (NR) have large crest
factors (8 to 15 dB) because they are composed of many
orthogonal sub-carriers. Since most active systems with
amplifiers will start to compress approximately 5 to 10 dB
below OP1dB, applying OFDM signals above these OBO
levels will result in distortion and EVM degradation.
Determining Linear EVM is reflective of operational usage and
requires the precise definition of the signal waveform and
modulation; channel bandwidth; and relative constellation error
contributions of other signal chain sources of error. These
concepts are shown in Fig. 1.
B. Transmit Efficiency (TXeff)
A second active antenna transmit FoM that is as important
as the level of radiated power (P1dB EIRP and Linear EIRP),
 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)
is the efficiency with which the radiated power is generated
relative to the required DC supply power and aperture area.
Fig. 1. Reference Power Levels for Linear EIRP definition
Active antenna systems incorporated into a Remote Radio
Head Unit (RRHU) are thermally limited systems and are
required to operate for extended periods (>10 years) in a
reliable manner without active thermal management. This
means excess energy generated within the RRHU is expected
to be dissipated through convection and radiation methods
only, without forced air cooling systems requiring moving
mechanical parts. This requirement is also reflected in the
objective for 5G systems to form the basis of sustainable green
networking through the increased deployment of small cells
and enhanced energy efficiency gain [4] [8]. Deployment
regulatory requirements and the nature of small-cell network
implementations will set an upper limit on the allowable
volume of the RRHU. The efficiency of heat transfer to the
environment through surface heat flux as a function of heat
transfer modes has been long established, and a given unit
volume implies a maximum allowable power dissipation to
meet reliability – Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) or
Failure in Time (FIT) requirements [9].
One of the distinguishing capabilities of an active antenna
is that EIRP is generated using many radiated elements to
create array aperture gain along with distributed signal
conditioning and electronic amplification in each of the
element signal paths. This approach significantly diverges from
the traditional transmit signal chain architecture where the
efficiency of signal generation is dominated by a single power
amplifier and a FoM such as Power Added Efficiency (PAE)
could be utilized to characterize performance. To correctly
characterize the distributed architectures of active antenna
systems, more comprehensive transmitter efficiency FoMs
must be considered. A useful vehicle for doing so is the notion
of Consumption Factor theory whereby the energy efficiency
of a system is considered at a more holistic level [10].
Fig. 2 illustrates how the notion of Consumption Factor
may be applied to (a) the Remote Radio Head Unit (RRHU)
and (b) an Active Antenna subsystem. The RRHU data source
is a Base Band Unit (BBU) that generates formatted baseband
5G NR channels. The data sink is the physical air interface for
radiated transmission of 5G NR millimeter wave signals.
Optimization of the overall RRHU system efficiency considers
the contribution of both signal path and non-signal path devices
(including devices such as control circuitry and power supply
and distribution). Non-signal path devices may contribute
substantially to the mass (volume) of the unit, especially with
increased size required for Power Supply Units (PSU)
associated with inefficient device supply signal conditioning.
The transmit efficiency of the RRHU active antenna system as
a whole captures how efficiently the system generates
transmitted millimeter wave signals relative to the required DC
supply power and total antenna volume.
TXeff = EIRP / (Pdiss * VolAnt) (2)
EIRP: Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (Watts) at output
reference P1dB. Value defined (1) converted from dBm to
Watts
Pdiss: DC supply power required by active antenna system
in transmit mode to create a beam with EIRP (Watts)
VolAnt: Total active antenna system volume including
aperture, electronics and thermal management (cm^3)
A higher value of TXeff indicates: lower DC power supply
requirements, higher reliability due to less required thermal
dissipation, and smaller physical size of the active antenna.
These factors reduce operating costs for the radio access
network and facilitate simple RRHU active antenna system
installations meeting regulatory deployment constraints. Table
1 includes TXeff values for two rapid-prototype 28GHz active
array designs that have not yet been optimized to reduce
volume.
If we wish to inspect the transmit efficiency performance of
the millimeter wave circuitry more directly, then we can
consider the active antenna subarray network shown in Fig.
2(b). A hybrid beam-forming approach implemented using
Fig. 2. Figurative representation of (a) the RRHU [10] and (b) an Active
Antenna sub array
 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)

multiple subarrays may be selected for the millimeter wave

RRHU active antenna systems to generate multiple
independent beams radiating from the overall combined
system. Each subarray in the system will consist of N-elements
(where N typically ranges from 16 to 256) and will require
separate frequency conversion and baseband circuitry to
generate the independent data streams. The overall power
dissipation of the RRHU active antenna system includes
contributions from each subarray. To create a subarray
component metric for the efficiency of RF signal conditioning
network at the subarray level, TXSAeff can therefore be
determined by:

TXSAeff = EIRP / (PSAdiss * N) (3)

PSAdiss: DC supply power required by all components in the

active antenna RF subarray signal path (not including
frequency conversion)
N: Number of elements in sub-array
EIRP follows a 20log10 (N) relationship for active array
antennas where N is the number of elements in the array. This
20log10 (N) relationship includes two terms: 10log10 (N) for
array aperture gain and 10log10 (N) due to the inclusion of
conducted millimeter wave power amplifiers for every
radiating element. The efficiency of the subarray is therefore
normalized by the number of elements in the subarray.

C. Transmit and Receive Error Vector Magnitude (EVMTX ,

EVMRX) over Beam Scan Volume
Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) is a comprehensive signal
quality metric used to quantify the performance of transmitters
(EVMTX) and receivers (EVMRX) used in digital wireless
communication networks. EVM measurements include the
signal degradation effects of component impairments
(distortion, phase noise, carrier leakage, etc.) throughout the
radio network and are used to determine link quality and
expected data handling capabilities of wireless systems.
Specific 5G NR reference signals and test models will need to
be defined along with unambiguous test methods to generate
EVM measurements for active antenna enabled networks. To
quantify performance for active antennas, measurements of
EVMTX and EVMRX will need to be conducted as beams are
steered over scan volume.
Fig. 3 displays measured EVM data for a 28GHz, 256-
element active antenna developed by Ball Aerospace and
Anokiwave. Performance features of this 5G active antenna
include: operating with a single 256-element beam or four
independent 64-element beams; TX/RX half duplex function;
full two-dimensional electronic beam steering and
programmable beam widths. EVM data was measured using
Keysight Technologies 5G Testbed for Design Validation
(including the M9383A PXIe microwave vector signal
generator and M9393A PXIe microwave vector signal
analyzer). A 3GPP 5G NR waveform with 256 QAM and a
single 100 MHz component carrier was used as the test signal
for these EVM measurements. To conduct these tests, the
active antenna was mechanically rotated to maintain direct
pointing link to test system’s standard gain horn as the active
Fig. 3. Measured 28GHz Active Antenna EVM performance over scan
volume (a) Transmit EVM for 64-element beam (b) Receive EVM for 64-
element beam
beam was scanned. These over-the-air EVM measurements
were conducted in an office environment to provide
representative data for realistic channel environments.
For the high-order, digitally modulated signals being
defined for 5G NR, EVM is a comprehensive measurement of
how an active antenna will impact the signal quality of the
signals it receives and transmits for the wireless network.
D. Azimuth and Elevation Beam Scan (BSAZ, BSEL)
Active antennas electronically steer their main beam to
point in different directions without mechanically moving the
antenna. Two useful FoMs to define an active antenna’s scan
volume are Beam Scan over Azimuth (BSAZ) and Beam Scan
over Elevation (BSEL). These FoMs measure the angular extent
off boresight that a beam can be scanned in the Azimuth and
Elevation planes without grating lobes occurring in the field of
regard.
For most 5G NR radio access networks, active antennas
typically need to be able to scan their beams across the horizon
 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)
(Azimuth plane) to a greater range than they are required to
scan above and below the horizon (Elevation plane). Typical
required values for BSAZ are +60 degrees to -60 degrees to
allow beam coverage over a 120-degree sector. Requirements
for BSEL often only range from +30 degrees to -30 degrees or
less. One exception would be for active antenna RRHU serving
urban areas with tall buildings. To provide service for the
higher stories of buildings in urban areas, full two-dimensional
beam steering may be required where both BSAZ and BSEL must
provide larger angular ranges (typically +60 degrees to -60
degrees). The 5G NR 28GHz active antenna described for
Fig. 3 provides full two-dimension beam steering over a wide
scan volume (BSAZ and BSEL both +/- 60 degrees).
E. Beam Scan Loss (BSLTX)
An active antenna’s main beam peak power will decrease
as the beam is scanned from boresight to the outer edge of the
antenna scan volume. This is known as scan loss and is defined
here for antenna transmit performance.
BSLTX = EIRPPeak – EIRPScan
EIRPPeak: EIRP of main beam scanned to boresight in dBm
EIRPScan: EIRP of main beam scanned to edge of array
scan volume in dBm
BSLTX (scan loss) defines how much coverage is available
from the active antenna. Higher values of scan loss result in
lower available transmit power (EIRP) as the beam is steered
off boresight. Lower EIRP reduces link robustness and data
throughput.
Scan loss can similarly be defined for active antenna in
receive mode. Fig. 4 provides measured beam scan
performance for the 28GHz rapid-prototype, 64-element active
antennas jointly developed by Ball and Anokiwave. Radiation
patterns are shown for seven beam positions generated by
programming the antenna to point the main beam in seven
Fig. 4. Measured 28GHz, 64-element Active Antenna Beam Scanning
directions from boresight to 60 degrees off of boresight.
F. Beam Steer Execution Time (BSET)
Beam Steer Execution Time (BSET) defines how rapidly
the active antenna can transition its beam to point in a new
direction to complete the previously issued beam steer
command. BSET is the duration of time that the beam is not
available as it is actively transitioning from one beam state to
the next. It is critical for wireless networks that active antennas
minimize the time spent in an active beam transition state since
the channel served by the beam will be unavailable during this
time. To best support 5G beam acquisition and refinement
requirements, an active antenna’s BSET should be less than the
cyclic prefix duration. At the beginning of a symbol period (or
earlier), the 5G NR network can send a command to transition
the active antenna beam to a new direction during the
following symbol’s cyclic prefix duration. Once the cyclic
prefix duration is completed, an active antenna’s beam should
be pointed in the correct direction and available for use during
the remainder of the symbol period. For the 5G NR supported
numerologies, a sub-carrier spacing of 240 kHz results in a
(4) cyclic prefix duration of only 290 nanoseconds.
5G applications will require precise control over when a
beam changes state. For example, to support hybrid beam
forming, beam commanding must accurately align beam steer
changes of multiple subarrays’ beams. Active antennas must
provide rapid and precise beam steer execution to allow the
radio access network to optimize data throughput.
G. Number and Polarization of Beams (Nb,Polb)
More independent data channels in the wireless network
allow for higher system capacity, increased data throughput,
and more reliable radio links. Multiple beams can be produced
by 5G NR active antennas, but these beams must provide
sufficiently low correlation to support simultaneous operation
of multiple, independent data channels. Techniques to reduce
beam correlation include spatial diversity, orthogonal
polarizations, separation of beam pointing direction, and
adaptive radiation patterns. Envelope Correlation Coefficient
(ECC) is an antenna radiation pattern correlation metric that
can be used to characterize how independent two active
antenna beams are.
To facilitate determining the number of independent data
channels that may be supported, joint FoMs specifying
Number of Beams (Nb) and Number of Orthogonal Beam
Polarizations (Polb) are useful. An active antenna supplying a
larger number of individual beams with orthogonal polarization
will be better able to support a larger number of independent
data channels. Currently, various 5G NR field trials are
evaluating systems with multiple beams supporting orthogonal
slant +/- 45-degree polarization (Polb =2).
H. Radiated Pattern Management
Active antennas must be able to rapidly optimize beam
widths by software commanding to meet channel conditions. In
addition to controlling the scan angle (pointing direction) of an
active antenna system’s main radiated beam, other radiation
pattern characteristics can be software commanded by
 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)
adjusting the phases and amplitudes in each of the system’s
radiating element paths. Two key radiation pattern
characteristics for 5G NR networks are antenna Beam Width
Control (BWC) and Side Lobe Suppression (SLS). BWC is the
ability of an active antenna to create narrow-to-wide beam
widths to support both data and control channels. Radiated SLS
is the ratio of the peak of the far field radiation pattern main
beam to that of the maximum sidelobe level. This quantity is a
measure of an active antenna’s ability to control sidelobe levels
to reduce radiation outside the desired main beam.
SLS = Βp / SLp (5)
Bp: Peak of main beam scanned to boresight in dBi
SLp: Peak of sidelobes with main beam scanned to
boresight in dBi
Lower sidelobes will decrease network-level interference,
resulting in improved link quality, increased wireless channel
availability, and improved system capacity.
Fig. 5 illustrates some examples of these characteristics in
the measured performance of a Ball Anokiwave 28GHz, 256-
element array. Measurements of radiated antenna patterns are
shown as a function of the Azimuthal plane angle for the active
antenna programmed into four different radiated pattern
configurations. The active antenna performance is software
enabled with rapid commanding of the programmable vector
modulators in the radiating element paths. The highest gain
response pattern, labeled Beam 1, shows the antenna beam
steered to boresight and stimulated with a Uniform
Illumination (UI) array taper. In this condition, each of the
signal path vector modulators is programmed to their
maximum amplitude setting, and the resulting pattern displays
the expected nominal -13dBc first sidelobe level (SLL). UI
provides the maximum gain available from the radiating
antenna aperture, and it is commonly used in many transmitter
applications to maximize the EIRP. The relatively high
sidelobe level in this setting may violate the stringent demands
of telecommunications regulatory requirements, although
spatial radiation energy restrictions are still in a state of
definition.
Fig. 5. Measured radiation patterns of a 256-element array operating at
28GHz under different beam-configuration settings
A reduction of the SLL of the radiated antenna pattern can
be achieved by imposing a taper across the array elements
where the relative magnitudes of the signals in the radiating
element paths are weighted against each other to effect a
reduction in the energy summation in the far field. Beam 2 in
Fig. 5 illustrates the effect of imposing a 25 dB (nominal) taper
on the first sidelobe of the pattern, and the overall energy
contribution of the sidelobes can be seen to be significantly
reduced across the entire azimuth plane. The associated cost of
this taper is a reduction in the peak gain and a slight
broadening of the half-power beam width of the main lobe,
thereby also reducing the available signal power from the
antenna aperture in the desired pointing direction.
Beam 3 and Beam 4 in Fig. 5 illustrate active antenna
BWC. Beam spreading amplitude and phase tapers were
applied to create wider beam width radiation patterns
compared to the narrower beam shown for Beam 1.
I. Additional Active Antenna Design Considerations
There are additional active antenna design considerations
that are vital to evaluate for optimizing 5G NR network
performance. Over the next few years as millimeter wave 5G
networks are implemented and performance is assessed, active
antenna system requirements will mature and be further
defined.
For previous wireless access networks constructed with
passive antennas, the far-field radiation patterns could not be
software controlled to point beams and change beam widths.
Since passive antennas have static radiation patterns, 3GPP
used receiver metrics such as Block Error Rate (BLER) and
throughput to characterize system receive sensitivity and
performance without requirements to additionally define
associated beam states for the test models. To establish
comprehensive and unambiguous receive performance
characterizations for active antenna enabled 5G NR networks,
test models and methods will need to be further refined to
specify beam management and active spatial components.
Other key parameters for active antennas that must be
defined over the antenna’s scan volume include beam pointing
accuracy, cross polarization isolation, adjacent channel leakage
ratio (ACLR), intermodulation performance, and spatial
interference rejection. For example, to support two-layer
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) with orthogonal data
streams on each polarization of an orthogonally polarized
active antenna, acceptable cross polarization leakage as the
beam is scanned must be defined.
Another area of vigorous discussion has focused on
whether there is a need for active antenna calibration
requirements. Calibration activities, if needed, will likely
impact many areas, including time to market, production yield,
performance stability, and active antenna cost.
V. CONCLUSION
A comprehensive set of 5G active antenna figures of merit
is required to allow comparison of various active antenna
solutions and predict network system performance. To
overcome the challenges of operating in millimeter wave
 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM)
channels, active antennas are an enabling technology that will
assist with unlocking the full potential and supporting the
diversity of new 5G applications. The FoMs defined in this
paper facilitate objective assessments for active antennas
enabling 5G wireless communication networks, and support
the wireless industry goals to accelerate the deployment of 5G
and grow the connectivity markets.
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