Design and Verification of a MATLAB-Based Massive MIMO Channel Emulator for 5G and 6G System Performance Testing

Abstract

Design and Verification of a Massive MIMO ChannelMassive MIMO technology is considered the future of fifth generation (5G) and future six generations (6G) wireless communications because of its potential in terms of enhancing spectral efficiency, increasing network capacity, and enhancing communication reliability. The need for accurate Massive MIMO evaluation through realistic channel emulation becomes very critical in assessing the performance and effectiveness of such systems in providing reliable services. Traditional approaches for evaluating Massive MIMO through channel emulators require expensive equipment, making them expensive, complex, and unsuitable for scaling up their implementation. This work proposes a MATLAB-based Massive MIMO channel emulator that can be used in assessing the performance of 5G and 6G wireless communications. Realistic channel parameters such as Rician fading, Rayleigh fading, path loss, shadowing, spatial correlations, and Doppler effects have been incorporated. Techniques such as beamforming, Zero Forcing (ZF), and Minimum Mean Square (MSME) have been implemented for improved system performance. Performance assessment has been done based on such measures as throughput, latency, spectral efficiency, channel capacity, and Bit Error Rate (BER).