Theoretical and Numerical Design of an E-band non-uniform Phased-Array Architecture for Ultra-High-Capacity mmWave Backhaul Links

This work investigates high-gain antenna architectures for E-band wireless backhaul links that meet the capacity and deployment requirements of emerging telecommunication networks. A minimum data rate of 10 Gbit/s and a target antenna gain of 50 dBi were identified through link budget analysis considering atmospheric attenuation and millimeter-wave propagation losses. Starting from a planar microstrip element, array synthesis based on pattern multiplication demonstrated that a 180×180 element configuration is required to achieve the desired directivity. A uniform phased-array architecture was first considered to compensate for mast tilting and alignment errors; however, the resulting need for tens of thousands of independent phase excitations revealed a hardware bottleneck in current phase-shifter technology. To reduce implementation complexity, a non-uniform phased-array architecture was developed. By modeling a single angular tilt, a periodic phase distribution was derived, enabling phase approximation and clustering techniques. The performance of these clustered configurations was quantified in terms of HPBW, SLL, and directivity. The integration of a Dolph–Chebyshev amplitude taper further improved sidelobe suppression and mitigated phase quantization effects. For comparison, a parabolic reflector antenna with array-fed beamsteering system was also analyzed and shown to provide effective tilt compensation. The results demonstrate that the proposed non-uniform phased-array offers a competitive and lightweight alternative to reflector-based solutions, achieving comparable gain with reduced physical footprint and installation complexity. This comparative framework contributes to the design of practical mmWave high-gain antennas for next-generation E-band wireless backhaul networks.