Energy-Efficient HBF Antenna Array for Multi Beams Through Simplified Connection Architecture

This letter proposes an energy-efficient hybrid beamforming (HBF) antenna array architecture characterized by a simplified connection architecture. To optimize the connection architecture, a differential evolution (DE) algorithm is employed, integrating active element patterns, digital phase shifters (PS) and specific beam functions. The proposed architecture is validated through the design and measurement of a 6× 6 HBF antenna array capable of simultaneous service and broadcast beamforming. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed architecture achieves a 59% reduction in digital-analog links compared to the full-connection (FC) architecture, while maintaining a 12 dBi main-lobe gain for service beam and a minimum gain of -1 dBi for broadcast beams. Furthermore, system evaluations using an extended cross-entropy QR-based HBF algorithm indicate that the energy efficiency (EE) of the optimized array is enhanced by up to 13% relative to the PC baseline.