With sum throughputs exceeding 1 Tb/s, next-generation high throughput satellite will play a key role in 5G networks for applications including backhauling or broadband in-flight connectivity. Such satellites require the deployment of tens of $Q/V$-band feeder links to support the data traffic in their uplink. Meanwhile, geographical restrictions and cost considerations significantly constrain the search for gateway deployment sites. Diversity strategies are, furthermore, necessary to cope with strong rain fades. In this paper, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) feeder links are proposed to address these challenges. Using two active gateway antennas per feeder link, a MIMO-based solution enables to support twice the user link bandwidth per link compared to the state-of-the-art. On-ground and onboard processing strategies for such MIMO links are introduced, and the link outage probabilities are determined. An extension of smart diversity schemes to MIMO-based architectures is also presented to guarantee a sufficient robustness against rain fades. An analysis of the achieved uplink CINR demonstrates the superiority of the proposed concept and provides guidelines for an efficient design.

中文翻译：

---

通过 MIMO 卫星 Q/V 波段馈线链路实现智能分集

随着总吞吐量超过 1 Tb/s，下一代高吞吐量卫星将在 5G 网络中发挥关键作用，包括回程或宽带飞行连接。此类卫星需要部署数十个 $Q/V$ 频段馈线链路，以支持其上行链路中的数据流量。同时，地理限制和成本考虑极大地限制了对网关部署站点的搜索。此外，多样性战略对于应对强降雨减弱也是必要的。在本文中，提出了多输入多输出 (MIMO) 馈线链路来解决这些挑战。每条馈线链路使用两个有源网关天线，与最先进技术相比，基于 MIMO 的解决方案能够支持每条链路两倍的用户链路带宽。介绍了此类 MIMO 链路的地面和机载处理策略，并确定了链路中断概率。还提出了将智能分集方案扩展到基于 MIMO 的体系结构，以保证对雨衰的足够鲁棒性。对实现的上行链路 CINR 的分析证明了所提出概念的优越性，并为有效设计提供了指导。