Power Consumption and Energy Efficiency of Mid-Band XL-MIMO: Modeling, Scaling Laws, and Performance Insights

2025-12-14

AI Summary

Ultra-massive MIMO (XL-MIMO) systems operating in the mid-band face a severe energy-efficiency bottleneck due to power consumption scaling with array size, limiting their practical deployment. Method: We develop the first end-to-end, hardware- and signal-processing-aware power consumption model for XL-MIMO, integrated with near-field channel modeling and closed-form throughput analysis to establish a system-level energy efficiency (EE) analytical framework. Contribution/Results: We derive, for the first time, the analytical EE scaling law under near-field conditions. Theoretical and numerical validation confirms <3% throughput estimation error and excellent agreement between analytical EE predictions and simulations. At equal spectral efficiency, mid-band XL-MIMO achieves 18–35% lower power consumption than conventional multi-antenna systems, clearly demonstrating its superior energy efficiency.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Hardware-aware ML
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Scalability, Parallel & Distributed Systems
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: On-Device user modeling, personalization, and recommendation
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines

Abstract

Mid-band extra-large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (XL-MIMO), emerging as a critical enabler for future communication systems, is expected to deliver significantly higher throughput by leveraging the extended bandwidth and enlarged antenna aperture. However, power consumption remains a significant concern due to the enlarged system dimension, underscoring the need for thorough investigations into efficient system design and deployment. To this end, an in-depth study is conducted on mid-band XL-MIMO systems. Specifically, a comprehensive power consumption model is proposed, encompassing the power consumption of major hardware components and signal processing procedures, while capturing the influence of key system parameters. Considering typical near-field propagation characteristics, closed-form approximations of throughput are derived, providing an analytical framework for assessing energy efficiency (EE). Based on the proposed framework, the scaling law of EE with respect to key system configurations is derived, offering valuable insights for system design. Subsequently, extensions and comparisons are conducted among representative multi-antenna technologies, demonstrating the superiority of mid-band XL-MIMO in EE. Extensive numerical results not only verify the tightness of the throughput analysis but also validate the EE evaluations, unveiling the potential of energy-efficient mid-band XL-MIMO systems.

Problem

• Modeling power consumption in mid-band XL-MIMO systems
• Analyzing energy efficiency scaling laws for system design
• Comparing EE performance across multi-antenna technologies

Innovation

• Proposed a comprehensive power consumption model for XL-MIMO systems
• Derived closed-form throughput approximations using near-field propagation
• Established energy efficiency scaling laws for system design insights