Satellite Communications with 5G, B5G, and 6G: Challenges and Prospects

Satellite communications, pivotal for global connectivity, are increasingly converging with cutting-edge mobile networks, notably 5G, B5G, and 6G. This amalgamation heralds the promise of universal, high-velocity communication, yet it is not without its challenges. Paramount concerns encompass spectrum allocation, the harmonization of network architectures, and inherent latency issues in satellite transmissions. Potential mitigations, such as dynamic spectrum sharing and the deployment of edge computing, are explored as viable solutions. Looking ahead, the advent of quantum communications within satellite frameworks and the integration of AI spotlight promising research trajectories. These advancements aim to foster a seamless and synergistic coexistence between satellite communications and next-gen mobile networks.

Space/Air Covert Communications:Potentials,Scenarios,and Key Technologies

Space/air communications have been envisioned as an essential part of the next-generation mobile communication networks for providing highquality global connectivity. However, the inherent broadcasting nature of wireless propagation environment and the broad coverage pose severe threats to the protection of private data. Emerging covert communications provides a promising solution to achieve robust communication security. Aiming at facilitating the practical implementation of covert communications in space/air networks, we present a tutorial overview of its potentials, scenarios, and key technologies. Specifically, first, the commonly used covertness constraint model, covert performance metrics, and potential application scenarios are briefly introduced. Then, several efficient methods that introduce uncertainty into the covert system are thoroughly summarized, followed by several critical enabling technologies, including joint resource allocation and deployment/trajectory design, multi-antenna and beamforming techniques, reconfigurable intelligent surface(RIS), and artificial intelligence algorithms. Finally, we highlight some open issues for future investigation.

High-Precision Doppler Frequency Estimation Based Positioning Using OTFS Modulations by Red and Blue Frequency Shift Discriminator

Orthogonal Time Frequency and Space(OTFS) modulation is expected to provide high-speed and ultra-reliable communications for emerging mobile applications, including low-orbit satellite communications. Using the Doppler frequency for positioning is a promising research direction on communication and navigation integration. To tackle the high Doppler frequency and low signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) in satellite communication, this paper proposes a Red and Blue Frequency Shift Discriminator(RBFSD) based on the pseudo-noise(PN) sequence.The paper derives that the cross-correlation function on the Doppler domain exhibits the characteristic of a Sinc function. Therefore, it applies modulation onto the Delay-Doppler domain using PN sequence and adjusts Doppler frequency estimation by red-shifting or blue-shifting. Simulation results show that the performance of Doppler frequency estimation is close to the Cramér-Rao Lower Bound when the SNR is greater than -15dB. The proposed algorithm is about 1/D times less complex than the existing PN pilot sequence algorithm, where D is the resolution of the fractional Doppler.

An ISGW Filtering Antenna with Spurious Modes and Surface Wave Suppression for Millimeter Wave Communications

In this paper,an integrated substrate gap waveguide(ISGW)filtering antenna is proposed at millimeter wave band,whose surface wave and spurious modes are simultaneously suppressed.A secondorder filtering response is obtained through a coupling feeding scheme using one uniform impedance resonator(UIR)and two stepped-impedance resonators(SIRs).To increase the stopband width of the antenna,the spurious modes are suppressed by selecting the appropriate sizes of the ISGW unit cell.Furthermore,the ISGW is implemented to improve the radiation performance of the antenna by alleviating the propagation of surface wave.And an equivalent circuit is investigated to reveal the working principle of ISGW.To demonstrate this methodology,an ISGW filtering antenna operating at a center frequency of 25 GHz is designed,fabricated,and measured.The results show that the antenna achieves a stopband width of 1.6f0(center frequency),an out-of-band suppression level of 21 dB,and a peak realized gain of 8.5 dBi.

Sensing-Assisted Accurate and Fast Beam Management for Cellular-Connected mmWave UAV Network

Beam management,including initial access(IA)and beam tracking,is essential to the millimeter-wave Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)network.However,the conventional communicationonly and feedback-based schemes suffer a high delay and low accuracy of beam alignment,since they only enable the receiver to passively“hear”the information of the transmitter from the radio domain.This paper presents a novel sensing-assisted beam management approach,the first solution that fully utilizes the information from the visual domain to improve communication performance.We employ both integrated sensing and communication and computer vision techniques and design an extended Kalman filtering method for beam tracking and prediction.Besides,we also propose a novel dual identity association solution to distinguish multiple UAVs in dynamic environments.Real-world experiments and numerical results show that the proposed solution outperforms the conventional methods in IA delay,association accuracy,tracking error,and communication performance.

Growth of Chinese Medicine in Iran: Past, Present, and Prospects

The international recognition of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has continuously increased,and that medical practice has gradually become incorporated into the medical systems of many nations.As an important country in the Belt and Road Initiative,Iran has enormous potential for cooperation with China in medical and health care.High-level officials of the two countries attach great importance to cooperation in both areas.Despite the recent rapid development of TCM in Iran,that medical practice still faces many problems;examples here are the lack of practitioners of TCM as well as the paucity of comprehensive cooperation among herbal medicine factories,publishing houses,traditional medicine colleges,and universities in the two countries.The present study collected and analyzed materials related to the practice of TCM in Iran;it made a deep examination of the current situation,problems,and development prospects regarding TCM in Iran with the aim of providing ideas and references to promote the international development of that form of medicine.Following an analysis of the development trends of TCM in Iran in recent years,it became evident that the prospects for TCM in that country are extensive,and the practice has excellent potential.

Joint Active and Passive Beamforming Design for Hybrid RIS-Aided Integrated Sensing and Communication

Integrated sensing and communication(ISAC) is considered an effective technique to solve spectrum congestion in the future. In this paper, we consider a hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surface(RIS)-assisted downlink ISAC system that simultaneously serves multiple single-antenna communication users and senses multiple targets. Hybrid RIS differs from fully passive RIS in that it is composed of both active and passive elements, with the active elements having the effect of amplifying the signal in addition to phase-shifting. We maximize the achievable sum rate of communication users by collaboratively improving the beamforming matrix at the dual function base station(DFBS) and the phase-shifting matrix of the hybrid RIS, subject to the transmit power constraint at the DFBS, the signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio(SINR) constraint of the radar echo signal and the RIS constraint are satisfied at the same time. The builtin RIS-assisted ISAC design problem model is significantly non-convex due to the fractional objective function of this optimization problem and the coupling of the optimization variables in the objective function and constraints. As a result, we provide an effective alternating optimization approach based on fractional programming(FP) with block coordinate descent(BCD)to solve the optimization variables. Results from simulations show that the hybrid RIS-assisted ISAC system outperforms the other benchmark solutions.

Photonics-assisted THz wireless communication enabled by wide-bandwidth packaged backilluminated modified uni-traveling-carrier photodiode

This paper presents a wide-bandwidth back-illuminated modified uni-traveling-carrier photodiode(MUTC-PD)packaged with standard WR-5 rectangular waveguide for high-speed wireless communications.With optimized epitaxy structure and coplanar waveguide electrodes,the fabricated 4-μm-diameter PD exhibits ultra-flat frequency response and high saturation power.Integrated passive circuits including low-loss bias-tee and E-plane probe are designed to package the PD into a compact module with waveguide output.The packaged PD module has demonstrated a flat frequency response with fluctuations within±2.75 d B over a broadband of 140–220 GHz and a high saturated output power of-7.8 d Bm(166μW)at 140 GHz.For wireless communication applications,the packaged PD is used to implement 1-m free space transmission at carrier frequencies of 150.5 and 210.5 GHz,with transmission rates of 75 and 90 Gbps,respectively.

Integrated Sensing and Communication:Who Benefits More?

This paper compares the benefits of communication-assisted sensing and sensing-assisted communication in the context of integrated sensing and communication(ISAC).Communication-assisted sensing leverages the extensive cellular infrastructure to create a vast and cooperative sensor network,enhancing environmental perception accuracy and coverage.On the other hand,sensing-assisted communication utilizes advanced sensing technologies to improve predictive beamforming and channel estimation performance in high-frequency and highmobility scenarios,thereby increasing communication efficiency and reliability.To validate our analysis,we present an example of channel knowledge map(CKM)-assisted beam tracking.This example demonstrates the practical advantages of incorporating CKM in enhancing beam tracking accuracy.Our analysis confirms that communication-assisted sensing may offer greater development potential due to its wide coverage and cost-effectiveness in large-scale applications.

Kullback-Leibler Divergence Based ISAC Constellation and Beamforming Design in the Presence of Clutter

Integrated sensing and communication(ISAC)is regarded as a pivotal technology for 6G communication.In this paper,we employ Kullback-Leibler divergence(KLD)as the unified performance metric for ISAC systems and investigate constellation and beamforming design in the presence of clutters.In particular,the constellation design problem is solved via the successive convex approximation(SCA)technique,and the optimal beamforming in terms of sensing KLD is proven to be equivalent to maximizing the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio(SINR)of echo signals.Numerical results demonstrate the tradeoff between sensing and communication performance under different parameter setups.Additionally,the beampattern generated by the proposed algorithm achieves significant clutter suppression and higher SINR of echo signals compared with the conventional scheme.

Sensing and Communication Integrated Fast Neighbor Discovery for UAV Networks

In unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)networks,the high mobility of nodes leads to frequent changes in network topology,which brings challenges to the neighbor discovery(ND)for UAV networks.Integrated sensing and communication(ISAC),as an emerging technology in 6G mobile networks,has shown great potential in improving communication performance with the assistance of sensing information.ISAC obtains the prior information about node distribution,reducing the ND time.However,the prior information obtained through ISAC may be imperfect.Hence,an ND algorithm based on reinforcement learning is proposed.The learning automaton(LA)is applied to interact with the environment and continuously adjust the probability of selecting beams to accelerate the convergence speed of ND algorithms.Besides,an efficient ND algorithm in the neighbor maintenance phase is designed,which applies the Kalman filter to predict node movement.Simulation results show that the LA-based ND algorithm reduces the ND time by up to 32%compared with the Scan-Based Algorithm(SBA),which proves the efficiency of the proposed ND algorithms.

Discussion on Cultural Integration and Educational Services for International Students from the Perspective of Situational Communication

From the perspective of situational communication,this paper aims to explore how to promote cultural integration and provide better educational services for international students in China.This paper first analyzes the basic assumptions and key factors of situational communication based on international students in China.Secondly,the relationship between situational communication and cultural integration and educational services for international students in China is discussed in depth.Additionally,the role of situational communication in educational services for international students in China,such as promoting cross-cultural communication,solving language barriers,and enhancing mutual understanding,is proposed.Lastly,from the perspective of situational communication,an optimization path of educational services and cultural integration for international students in China is proposed,including the provision of diversified educational resources,the enhancement of cross-cultural communication,and the establishment of an effective communication mechanism.This study expands the perspective of educational services for international students in China,provides a new theoretical framework and practical path,and offers a reference for promoting cultural integration and improving educational services for international students in China.

Innovation and Practice of Teaching Methods in Digital and Adaptive Learning:Taking Communication Engineering Major as an Example

This paper proposes teaching reforms in communication engineering majors,emphasizing the implementation of digital and adaptive teaching methodologies,integrating emerging technologies,breaking free from the constraints of traditional education,and fostering high-caliber talents.The reform measures encompass fundamental data collection,recognition of individual characteristics,recommendation of adaptive learning resources,process-oriented teaching management,adaptive student guidance and early warning systems,personalized evaluation,and the construction of an integrated service platform.These measures,when combined,form a comprehensive system that is expected to enhance teaching quality and efficiency,and facilitate student development.

Tasks-Oriented Joint Resource Allocation Scheme for the Internet of Vehicles with Sensing, Communication and Computing Integration

With the development of artificial intelligence(AI)and 5G technology,the integration of sensing,communication and computing in the Internet of Vehicles(Io V)is becoming a trend.However,the large amount of data transmission and the computing requirements of intelligent tasks lead to the complex resource management problems.In view of the above challenges,this paper proposes a tasks-oriented joint resource allocation scheme(TOJRAS)in the scenario of Io V.First,this paper proposes a system model with sensing,communication,and computing integration for multiple intelligent tasks with different requirements in the Io V.Secondly,joint resource allocation problems for real-time tasks and delay-tolerant tasks in the Io V are constructed respectively,including communication,computing and caching resources.Thirdly,a distributed deep Q-network(DDQN)based algorithm is proposed to solve the optimization problems,and the convergence and complexity of the algorithm are discussed.Finally,the experimental results based on real data sets verify the performance advantages of the proposed resource allocation scheme,compared to the existing ones.The exploration efficiency of our proposed DDQN-based algorithm is improved by at least about 5%,and our proposed resource allocation scheme improves the m AP performance by about 0.15 under resource constraints.

Architecture for Cellular Enabled Integrated Communication and Sensing Services

There is growing interest in the integrated sensing and communication(ISAC)to extend the 5G+/6G network capabilities by introducing sensing capability.While the solutions for mono-static or bi-static ISAC have shown feasibility and benefits based on existing 5G physical layer design,whether and how to coordinate multiple ISAC devices to better exert networking performance are rarely discussed.3 rd Partnership Project(3GPP)has initiated the ISAC use cases study,and the follow-up studies for network architecture could be anticipated.In this article,we focus on gNB-based sensing mode and propose ISAC functional framework with given of highlevel service procedures to enable cellular based ISAC services.In the proposed ISAC framework,three types of network functions for sensing service as Sensing Function(SF),lightweight-Edge Sensing Function(ESF)and full-version-ESF are designed with interaction with network nodes to fulfill the latency requirements of ISAC use cases.Finally,with simulation evaluations and hardware testbed results,we further verify the performance benefit and feasibility to enable ISAC in 5G for the gNB-based sensing mode with new design on SF and related signaling protocols.

Beyond 5G Networks: Integration of Communication, Computing, Caching, and Control

In recent years,the exponential proliferation of smart devices with their intelligent applications poses severe challenges on conventional cellular networks.Such challenges can be potentially overcome by integrating communication,computing,caching,and control(i4C)technologies.In this survey,we first give a snapshot of different aspects of the i4C,comprising background,motivation,leading technological enablers,potential applications,and use cases.Next,we describe different models of communication,computing,caching,and control(4C)to lay the foundation of the integration approach.We review current stateof-the-art research efforts related to the i4C,focusing on recent trends of both conventional and artificial intelligence(AI)-based integration approaches.We also highlight the need for intelligence in resources integration.Then,we discuss the integration of sensing and communication(ISAC)and classify the integration approaches into various classes.Finally,we propose open challenges and present future research directions for beyond 5G networks,such as 6G.

Asymptotic Performance Limits of Vehicular Location and Velocity Detection Towards 6G mmWave Integrated Communication and Sensing

In this paper,joint location and velocity estimation(JLVE)of vehicular terminals for 6G integrated communication and sensing(ICAS)is studied.We aim to provide a unified performance analysis framework for ICAS-based JLVE,which is challenging due to random fading,multipath interference,and complexly coupled system models,and thus the impact of channel fading and multipath interference on JLVE performance is not fully understood.To address this challenge,we exploit structured information models of the JLVE problem to render tractable performance quantification.Firstly,an individual closedform Cramer-Rao lower bound for vehicular localization,velocity detection and channel estimation,respectively,is established for gaining insights into performance limits of ICAS-based JLVE.Secondly,the impact of system resource factors and fading environments,e.g.,system bandwidth,the number of subcarriers,carrier frequency,antenna array size,transmission distance,spatial channel correlation,channel covariance,the number of interference paths and noise power,on the JLVE performance is theoretically analyzed.The associated closed-form JLVE performance analysis can not only provide theoretical foundations for ICAS receiver design but also provide a perfor mance benchmark for various JLVE methods。

High Speed Electro-Absorption Modulators for Digital and Analog Optical Fiber Communications

An electro-absorption(EA)modulator is one of key components for optical fiber communications due to the high speed,small size,low voltage and integration ability with other semiconductor devices.A 40 Gb/s InGaAsP/InP multiplequantum-well(MQW)EA modulator monolithically integrated with a semiconductor optical amplifier(SOA)was fabricated for digital communications.The modulator capacitance was reduced to obtain 40 GHz bandwidth,and the SOA section helped reduce the insertion loss from 18 dB to 3 dB.InGaAlAs/InP MQW EA modulators have also been fabricated and characterized for analog optical fiber communications.A low driving voltage of 2.7 V and high spurious free dynamic range of 107 dB·Hz2/3 were estimated by static and dynamic measurements.

Integrated Sensing and Communication Enabled Multiple Beamwidth and Power Allocation for Connected Automated Vehicles

Connected autonomous vehicles(CAVs)are a promising paradigm for implementing intelligent transportation systems.However,in CAVs scenarios,the sensing blind areas cause serious safety hazards.Existing vehicle-to-vehicle(V2V)technology is difficult to break through the sensing blind area and ensure reliable sensing information.To overcome these problems,considering infrastructures as a means to extend the sensing range is feasible based on the integrated sensing and communication(ISAC)technology.The mmWave base station(mmBS)transmits multiple beams consisting of communication beams and sensing beams.The sensing beams are responsible for sensing objects within the CAVs blind area,while the communication beams are responsible for transmitting the sensed information to the CAVs.To reduce the impact of inter-beam interference,a joint multiple beamwidth and power allocation(JMBPA)algorithm is proposed.By maximizing the communication transmission rate under the sensing constraints.The proposed non-convex optimization problem is transformed into a standard difference of two convex functions(D.C.)problem.Finally,the superiority of the lutions.The average transmission rate of communication beams remains over 3.4 Gbps,showcasing a significant improvement compared to other algorithms.Moreover,the satisfaction of sensing services remains steady.

Integrated 3D Fan-out Package of RF Microsystem and Antenna for 5G Communications

A 3D fan-out packaging method for the integration of 5G communication RF microsystem and antenna is studied.First of all,through the double-sided wiring technology on the glass wafer,the fabrication of 5G antenna array is realized.Then the low power devices such as through silicon via(TSV)transfer chips,filters and antenna tuners are flip-welded on the glass wafer,and the glass wafer is reformed into a wafer permanently bonded with glass and resin by the injection molding process with resin material.Finally,the thinning resin surface leaks out of the TSV transfer chip,the rewiring is carried out on the resin surface,and then the power amplifier,low-noise amplifier,power management and other devices are flip-welded on the resin wafer surface.A ball grid array(BGA)is implanted to form the final package.The loss of the RF transmission line is measured by using the RF millimeter wave probe table.The results show that the RF transmission loss from the chip end to the antenna end in the fan-out package is very small,and it is only 0.26 dB/mm when working in 60 GHz.A slot coupling antenna is designed on the glass wafer.The antenna can operate at 60 GHz and the maximum gain can reach 6 dB within the working bandwidth.This demonstration successfully provides a feasible solution for the 3D fan-out integration of RF microsystem and antenna in 5G communications.