Shared Spectrum Metrology Group

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Communications Technology Laboratory (NIST CTL) Shared Spectrum Metrology Group develops metrology tools and methodologies to address the spectrum crunch. The group specializes in three core areas to rapidly address ever-changing spectrum sharing challenges:

• Metrology for wireless systems: traceable and rigorous test methods for over-the-air (OTA) testing of wireless systems
• Wireless coexistence: the need to understand the response and impact of a system on the overarching RF environment
• Spectrum sensing and monitoring: novel approaches merging thermal noise metrology with studies of distributed systems to address spectrum challenges such as wireless forensics

The Shared Spectrum Metrology Group supports the wireless industry and its need for practical, rapid, and accurate test approaches by contributing to the development of standardized test methods for wireless devices. Examples include new test methods for cellular-enabled Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, characterizing wireless coexistence, and millimeter-wave wireless technology, as well as standards where measurement science is lacking such as uncertainties in error-vector-magnitude measurements.

In addition to the impact on the communications industry and its hundreds of millions of users, the group supports Federal and Defense incumbent users who are developing techniques for sharing or compressing their spectrum footprint. In this area in particular, the work continues to make significant contributions as a key technical resource for the National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network (NASCTN). The Shared Spectrum Metrology Group research portfolio also investigates measurement challenges to improve the robustness, performance, and reliability of future wireless systems used in medical settings (e.g., operating rooms), manufacturing environments, stadiums, public-safety settings, utilities, and elsewhere.

The NIST Broadband Interoperability Testbed (NBIT), which the Shared Spectrum Metrology Group operates, is a key asset in our coexistence and tiered-access spectrum sharing work. This work informs the CTL Next-Generation 5G Wireless program, with a special focus on millimeter-wave communications and massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO). Beyond understanding the behavior of wireless systems themselves, the group supports the industry need to characterize RF signal propagation behavior by co-leading the 5G mmWave Channel Model Alliance, a nexus for global efforts to define the future radio channels through which next generation 5G wireless will operate. We develop methods to verify the performance of channel measurement hardware and OTA test set-ups having a variety of different architectures. The ultimate goal of these and many of our other endeavors is to assess advanced wireless system behavior so that policymakers and industry leaders can make informed decisions based on NIST impartial analysis.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES

The Shared Spectrum Metrology Group engages in the following major activities:

• Reverberation-Chamber Techniques for Wireless and Electromagnetic Capability
• Wireless Coexistence Impacts and Test Methods
• Shared Spectrum Algorithms and Systems
• Open RAN System Interoperability
• Physical Measurements for Cybersecurity Assessments of Cellular Networks