IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 10, NO.
3, APRIL 2016
Introduction to the Special Issue on Signal Processing
for Millimeter Wave Wireless Communications
C OMMUNICATION at millimeter wave (mmWave)
frequencies is defining a new era of wireless communi-
cation. The mmWave band relieves spectral gridlock at lower
frequencies by offering much higher bandwidth communi-
cation channels than presently used in commercial wireless
systems. The next generation of wireless local area networks
is exploiting the mmWave unlicensed band at 60 GHz to pro-
vide multigigabit-per-second data rates. There is also growing
interest in using mmWave licensed spectrum for 5G cellular
systems. MmWave communication could also provide impor-
tant benefits in other application scenarios like wearable net-
works, vehicular communications, or autonomous robots. The
potential for mmWave is immense.
Signal processing is critical for enabling the next generation
of mmWave communication. Because of the wide bandwidth,
overall complexity and mixed signal power consumption are
significant concerns. This motivates developing MIMO signal
processing techniques, e.g., that have to operate with few high-
resolution or many low-resolution analog-to-digital converters.
The propagation channel characteristics lead to sparsity in the
channel, which can be exploited in channel estimation, signal
detection, precoder/combiner design, and equalization. System
analysis of mmWave wireless systems is more complicated
due to the use of compact antennas, sensitivity to blockages,
and distance dependent propagation effects. Relays may play
an important role in mmWave to provide inband backhaul for
cellular networks or to enhance coverage in the presence of
blockages. Because of the higher carrier frequencies, support-
ing mobility becomes a significant challenge, requiring the
development of time-varying signal processing techniques such
as rapid beam adaptation.
This special issue brings together contributions from
researchers and practitioners in the area of signal processing
for wireless communications with an emphasis on communica-
tion at millimeter wave frequencies. In the end, eleven papers
were selected for inclusion in the special issue.
This issue starts off with an overview paper written by
the guest editors entitled “An Overview of Signal Processing
Techniques for Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems.” It pro-
vides an overview on topics of interest for signal processing
researchers including propagation and channel models, MIMO
architectures for mmWave, precoding and combining tech-
niques for mmWave MIMO systems, and channel estimation
exploiting sparsity. This paper provides foundations for the
other contributions in this issue.
The second paper entitled “Proposal on Millimeter-Wave
Channel Modeling for 5G Cellular System,” proposes a
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433
mmWave channel model for 5G cellular systems, inspired by
several measurement campaigns. The core idea is to supple-
ment existing measurement results with data obtained using
ray tracing. Parameters are provided to generate the channel
coefficients using a ray-based frequency selective channel. The
model in this paper can be used to study mmWave performance
in urban areas.
The next paper entitled “Analog multiband: efficient band-
width scaling for mm-wave communication,” presents an archi-
tecture for wideband mmWave communication systems. The
idea is to provide an efficient means for channelizing a wide-
band signal into multiple subchannels that can be processed in
parallel. The impact due to imperfect channelization is quanti-
fied and techniques for mitigating it are proposed. The results
in this paper provide a potential solution for hardware efficient
wideband operation in mmWave.
The next two papers deal with hybrid analog/digital pre-
coding, which is a power-efficient MIMO architecture. The
first paper is entitled “Alternating Minimization Algorithms for
Hybrid Precoding in Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems.” This
paper provides algorithms that alternate between the design of
the analog and digital precoders. Both fully connected and par-
tially connected array mappings are assumed. The performance
gap between the different algorithms and the fully digital solu-
tion is quantified in simulations. The second paper is entitled
“Hybrid Digital and Analog Beamforming Design for Large-
Scale Antenna Arrays.” This paper shows that with twice as
many RF chains as desired data streams and unquantized phase
shifters in the analog precoding network, there is no loss in
the hybrid architecture compared to the fully digital solution.
It then proposes algorithms for designing precoders for the case
where zero loss is not guaranteed. Both papers on hybrid pre-
coding provide new algorithms that confirm the viability of the
hybrid precoding solution.
Next, this issue contains two papers on estimation of
mmWave channels. The first paper entitled “Compressive chan-
nel estimation and tracking for large arrays in mm wave
picocells,” proposes a strategy which exploits sparsity in
the channel. The proposed technique involves a specially
designed training beacons and feedback from the mobile sta-
tions to allow the base station to estimate the path gains
and angles-of-departure for all the users at the same time.
Refinement and tracking are also included. The second paper
is entitled “Subspace Estimation and Decomposition for Large
Millimeter-Wave MIMO Systems.” This paper exploits reci-
procity to develop a method for estimating subspaces of the
channel using channel reciprocity and exploiting sparsity of the
eigenmodes. Then, an iterative algorithm that accounts for the
hybrid analog/digital structure is proposed. Results show that
the gap is close to the fully digital solution at medium-to-high
434 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 10, NO. 3, APRIL 2016

SNR. Together, these papers show that channel estimation, We would like to thank all the authors who submitted their
while different in mmWave systems, is practically feasible. manuscripts to this issue. We would also like to thank the
The next three papers address problems related to mmWave reviewers who lent their precious time to evaluate papers for
networks. The first paper entitled “Beamforming Tradeoffs the issue. Finally, we hope that the wide range of papers
for Initial UE Discovery in Millimeter-Wave MIMO Systems” in this special issue spurs the future development of het-
deals with the topic of initial user discovery. It studies the erogeneous networking solutions within the signal processing
problem of learning the right singular vector in a system community.
with only analog beamforming. The paper also suggests a
broadcast-based solution using limited feedback with spe-
cially designed directional codebooks. Comparisons are made
between different beamforming strategies in terms of different ROBERT W. H EATH J R ., Lead Guest Editor
metrics. The second paper is entitled “On the Performance of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Random Beamforming in Sparse Millimeter Wave Channels.” The University of Texas at Austin
This paper analyzes the performance of random beamform- Austin, TX 78701 USA
ing in a channel called the uniform random multipath model. e-mail: rheath@utexas.edu
Results are provided, e.g., on how the number of users should
scale to achieve linear sum rate scaling. Several other exten- N URIA G ONZÁLEZ -P RELCIC , Guest Editor
sions are also provided to different kinds of beamforming. Department of Signal Theory and Communications
The third paper is entitled “On the Performance of Relay University of Vigo
Aided Millimeter Wave Networks.” This paper shows that how Vigo, 36310 Spain
relays can improve performance in mmWave networks. Using a e-mail: nuria@gts.uvigo.es
stochastic geometry framework, this paper provides results on S UNDEEP R ANGAN , Guest Editor
the end-to-end SNR and suggests relay selection techniques that
Electrical and Computer Engineering
achieve good performance. These mmWave networking papers New York University
show that mmWave has promise not just in single links, but also New York, NY 11201 USA
in networks.
e-mail: srangan@nyu.edu
The final paper is entitled “Feasibility of Mobile Cellular
Communications at Millimeter Wave Frequency.” This paper W ONIL ROH , Guest Editor
describes a design for a radio frame structure to support Samsung Electronics
mmWave communication. The proposed structure was tested Suwon, 442-742 South Korea
as part of a prototype that delivered gigabits-per-second to both e-mail: wonil.roh@samsung.com
static and mobile users in different scenarios. Overall, this paper
provides perspective that mmWave is practical and can meet A KBAR S AYEED , Guest Editor
critical performance needs in cellular systems. Electrical and Computer Engineering
We received many papers in response to the call for papers University of Wisconsin-Madison
of this special issue. Based on relevance and fit for the spe- Wisconsin, WI 53706 USA
cial issue, many high-quality papers could not be included. e-mail: akbar.sayeed@wisc.edu

Robert W. Heath Jr. (S’96–M’01–SM’06–F’11) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engi-
neering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Since January 2002, he has been with the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin,
TX, USA, where he is a Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Professor, and is a Member
of the Wireless Networking and Communications Group. He is also the President and the CEO of
MIMO Wireless Inc., and the Chief Innovation Officer with Kuma Signals LLC. He has coauthored
the book Millimeter Wave Wireless Communications (Prentice Hall, 2014). His research inter-
ests include several aspects of wireless communication and signal processing: limited feedback
techniques, multihop networking, multiuser and multicell MIMO, interference alignment, adaptive
video transmission, manifold signal processing, and millimeter wave communication techniques.
He is also a licensed Amateur Radio Operator and is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas.
He has been an Editor and a Guest Editor for several journals. He was a Member of the Signal
Processing for Communications Technical Committee in the IEEE Signal Processing Society and
is a former Chair of the IEEE COMSOC Communications Technical Theory Committee. He has been on the organizing committee
for a number of conferences, including most recently 2013 IEEE GlobalSIP and 2014 IEEE GLOBECOM. He has received a
number of Best Paper Awards for his work.
IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. 10, NO. 3, APRIL 2016 435

Nuria González-Prelcic received the Ph.D. degree in telecommunications engineering from the
University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain, in 1998.
She is currently an Associate Professor with the Signal Theory and Communications
Department, University of Vigo. She has held visiting positions with Rice University, Houston, TX,
USA (1997), The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA (2012), and The University
of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA (2014 and 2015). Her research interests include signal
processing theory and signal processing for wireless communications: filter banks, compressive
sampling and estimation, and MIMO processing for millimeter wave communications. She is cur-
rently the Head of the Atlantic Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies
(AtlantTIC), University of Vigo.

Sundeep Rangan received the B.A.Sc. degree from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON,
Canada, and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley,
CA, USA, all in electrical engineering. He has held postdoctoral appointments at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, and Bell Labs. In 2000, he co-founded (with four others) Flarion
Technologies, a spinoff of Bell Labs, that developed Flash OFDM, the first cellular OFDM data
system and pre-cursor to 4G systems including LTE and WiMAX. In 2006, Flarion was acquired
by Qualcomm Technologies.
Dr. Rangan was the Director of Engineering at Qualcomm involved in OFDM infrastructure
products. He joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, New York University,
New York, Ny, USA, in 2010. His research interests include wireless communications, signal
processing, information theory, and control theory.

Wonil Roh received the Doctorate degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University,
Stanford, CA, USA. He is currently the Vice President and the Head of Advanced Communications
Laboratory, Samsung Electronics Corp., Korea, responsible for research of next generation mobile
communications technologies. He started working at Samsung Electronics in 2003 in research and
development of CDMA and Mobile WiMAX base-stations with the main focus on multiantenna
algorithms and system analysis. Then he led overall WiMAX standard activities and strategy in
Samsung including IEEE, the WiMAX Forum and ITU-R, and served as the Chair of Technical
Working Group (TWG) of the WiMAX Forum from 2006 to 2011. Since 2011, he has been lead-
ing research efforts for the next generation cellular (Beyond 4G or 5G) technologies at Samsung
with a focus on development of disruptive technologies and feasibility studies.

Akbar M. Sayeed (F’12) received the B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Madison, WI, USA, in 1991, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, in 1993 and 1996, all in electrical engineering. He
was a Postdoctoral Fellow with Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA, from 1996 to 1997. He
is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering with the University of Wisconsin, where
he leads the Wireless Communication and Sensing Laboratory. His research interests include wire-
less communications, statistical signal processing, communication and information theory, wireless
channel modeling, time-frequency analysis, and applications. A focus of current research is the
development of basic theory, system architectures, and prototypes for new wireless technologies
and applications at centimeter-wave and millimeter-wave (10-300GHz) frequencies for meeting the
growing data and connectivity needs.
Dr. Sayeed has served the IEEE in a number of capacities, including as a Member of the
Signal Processing for Communications and Networking Technical Committee of the IEEE Signal
Processing Society (2007–2012) and as an Associate Editor for the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON S IGNAL P ROCESSING (2013–
2015). He was the recipient of the Robert T. Chien Memorial Award (1996) for his doctoral work, the NSF CAREER Award
(1999), and the ONR Young Investigator Award (2001).