A Beam Hopping Scheme Based on Adaptive Beam Radius for LEO Satellites

Area of Science:

• Telecommunications Engineering
• Network Architecture
• Satellite Communications

Background:

• Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are crucial for 6G global connectivity within space-air-ground integrated networks (SAGINs).
• Beam-hopping is a key resource management technique in satellite communications addressing uneven traffic demands.
• Balancing beam coverage, anti-interference, and throughput is essential for efficient NTN operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an adaptive clustering-based beam-hopping algorithm for NTNs.
• To minimize total system latency and enhance overall system throughput.
• To manage diverse user beam sizes (large, medium, small) for targeted ground coverage.

Main Methods:

• An adaptive clustering-based approach is proposed for beam-hopping resource management.
• The algorithm dynamically adjusts beam characteristics (size) to optimize performance.
• Simulation models are used to evaluate the algorithm's effectiveness in baseline and alternative scenarios.

Main Results:

• The proposed algorithm increased system throughput by 3.44% and reduced system latency by 35.5% in the baseline model.
• Alternative model simulations showed potential for slight throughput decreases but significant latency improvements.
• Adaptive beam sizing effectively addresses trade-offs between coverage, interference, and throughput.

Conclusions:

• The adaptive clustering-based beam-hopping algorithm offers a promising solution for optimizing NTN performance in 6G.
• The method effectively balances system throughput and latency, with a strong emphasis on latency reduction.
• This approach contributes to the vision of seamless global connectivity through advanced satellite communication resource management.