Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.

Modern 4G/5G technologies aim to enhance data speeds, improve communication quality, and enable innovative services such as IoT and augmented reality. However, their efficiency depends on minimizing distortions in the radio frequency (RF) interface, evaluated through Error Vector Magnitude (EVM). In...

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Main Authors: Ilya Pyatin, Juliy Boiko, Viacheslav Kovtun, Oksana Kovtun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324170
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author Ilya Pyatin
Juliy Boiko
Viacheslav Kovtun
Oksana Kovtun
author_facet Ilya Pyatin
Juliy Boiko
Viacheslav Kovtun
Oksana Kovtun
author_sort Ilya Pyatin
collection DOAJ
description Modern 4G/5G technologies aim to enhance data speeds, improve communication quality, and enable innovative services such as IoT and augmented reality. However, their efficiency depends on minimizing distortions in the radio frequency (RF) interface, evaluated through Error Vector Magnitude (EVM). Increased EVM leads to packet losses and reduced throughput, making its reduction essential for stable and high-quality networks. This study investigates the impact of RF interface imperfections on EVM in 4G/5G systems. The analysis was conducted using Simulink models of digital communication transmitters and receivers, incorporating in-phase and quadrature (IQ) imbalance, phase noise, power amplifier (PA) nonlinearity, channel noise, and signal-coding scheme characteristics. The QM78207 chipset, integrating key RF components, was used as an example to reflect the complexity and quality requirements of modern RF interfaces. The results show that the maximum allowable EVM for 64-QAM is 8% (-22 dB). Variations in IQ amplitude imbalance (0-3 dB) increased EVM from -32 dB to -15 dB, while IQ phase imbalance (0°-15°) caused an increase from -32 dB to -17 dB, both for SNR = 50 dB. These findings are valuable for optimizing RF interface designs in 4G/5G systems, ensuring enhanced communication quality and supporting the growing demands for advanced services.
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spelling doaj-art-9ae582e19e594eac9cb42a2c8a3ce66e2025-08-20T02:34:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01205e032417010.1371/journal.pone.0324170Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.Ilya PyatinJuliy BoikoViacheslav KovtunOksana KovtunModern 4G/5G technologies aim to enhance data speeds, improve communication quality, and enable innovative services such as IoT and augmented reality. However, their efficiency depends on minimizing distortions in the radio frequency (RF) interface, evaluated through Error Vector Magnitude (EVM). Increased EVM leads to packet losses and reduced throughput, making its reduction essential for stable and high-quality networks. This study investigates the impact of RF interface imperfections on EVM in 4G/5G systems. The analysis was conducted using Simulink models of digital communication transmitters and receivers, incorporating in-phase and quadrature (IQ) imbalance, phase noise, power amplifier (PA) nonlinearity, channel noise, and signal-coding scheme characteristics. The QM78207 chipset, integrating key RF components, was used as an example to reflect the complexity and quality requirements of modern RF interfaces. The results show that the maximum allowable EVM for 64-QAM is 8% (-22 dB). Variations in IQ amplitude imbalance (0-3 dB) increased EVM from -32 dB to -15 dB, while IQ phase imbalance (0°-15°) caused an increase from -32 dB to -17 dB, both for SNR = 50 dB. These findings are valuable for optimizing RF interface designs in 4G/5G systems, ensuring enhanced communication quality and supporting the growing demands for advanced services.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324170
spellingShingle Ilya Pyatin
Juliy Boiko
Viacheslav Kovtun
Oksana Kovtun
Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.
PLoS ONE
title Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.
title_full Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.
title_fullStr Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.
title_full_unstemmed Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.
title_short Radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4G/5G: Effects of IQ imbalance, phase noise, and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude.
title_sort radio frequency interface quality assessment in 4g 5g effects of iq imbalance phase noise and nonlinearities on error vector magnitude
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324170
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