Transceiver design and system optimization for ultra-wideband communications

This dissertation investigates the potential promises and proposes possible solutions to the challenges of designing transceivers and optimizing system parameters in ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. The goal is to provide guidelines for UWB transceiver implementations under constraints by regulation, existing interference, and channel estimation. New UWB pulse shapes are invented that satisfy the Federal Communications Commission spectral mask. Parameters are designed to possibly implement the proposed pulses. A link budget is quantified based on an accurate frequency-dependent path loss calculation to account for variations across the ultra-wide bandwidth of the signal. Achievable information rates are quantified as a function of transmission distance over additive white Gaussian noise and multipath channels under specific UWB constraints: limited power spectral density, specific modulation formats, and a highly dispersive channel. The effect of self-interference (SI) and inter-symbol interference (ISI) on channel capacity is determined, and modulation formats that mitigate against this effect is identified. Spreading gains of familiar UWB signaling formats are evaluated, and UWB signals are proved to be spread spectrum. Conditions are formulated for trading coding gain with spreading gain with only a small impact on performance. Numerical results are examined to demonstrate that over a frequency-selective channel, the spreading gain may be beneficial in reducing the SI and ISI resulting in higher information rates. A reduced-rank adaptive filtering technique is applied to the problem of interference suppression and optimum combining in UWB communications. The reduced-rank combining method, in particular the eigencanceler, is proposed and compared with a minimum mean square error Rake receiver. Simulation results are evaluated to show that the performance of the proposed method is superior to the minimum mean square error when the correlation matrix is estimated from limited data. Impact of channel estimation on UWB system performance is investigated when path delays and path amplitudes are jointly estimated. Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) expressions for the variance of path delay and amplitude estimates are formulated using maximum likelihood estimation. Using the errors obtained from the CRB, the effective signal-to-noise ratio for UWB Rake receivers employing maximum ratio combining (MRC) is devised in the presence of channel path delay and amplitude errors. An exact expression of the bit error rate (BER) for UWB Rake receivers with MRC is derived with imperfect estimates of channel path delays and amplitudes. Further, this analysis is applied to design optimal transceiver parameters. The BER is used as part of a binary symmetric channel and the achievable information rates are evaluated. The optimum power allocation and number of symbols allocated to the pilot are developed with respect to maximizing the information rate. The optimal signal bandwidth to be used for UWB communications is determined in the presence of imperfect channel state information. The number of multipath components to be collected by Rake receivers is designed to optimize performance with non-ideal channel estimation

Hard-input-hard-output capacity analysis of UWB BPSK systems with timing errors

The hard-input-hard-output capacity of a binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) ultrawideband system is analyzed for both additive white Gaussian noise and multipath fading channels with timing errors. Unlike previous works that calculate the capacity with perfect synchronization and/or multiple-access interference only, our analysis considers timing errors with different distributions, as well as the interpath (IPI), interchip (ICI), and intersymbol (ISI) interferences, as in practical systems. The sensitivity of the channel capacity to the timing error is examined. The effects of pulse shape, the multiple-access technique, the number of users, and the number of chips are studied. It is found that time hopping is less sensitive to the pulse shape and that the timing error has higher capacity than direct sequence due to its low duty of cycle. Using these results, one can choose appropriate system parameters for different applications

On the Effects of Estimation Error and Jitter in Ultra-Wideband Communication

The opening of the 3.6 - 10.1 GHz frequency spectrum below the \u27noise-floor\u27 by the FCC in 2002 has made possible the prospect of reusing this frequency spectrum through ultra-wideband (UWB) communication. In this thesis, we compare the performance of several UWB systems in the presence of estimation error and jitter. We then develop two alternative decision schemes to combat the effect of jitter in the UWB system. Numerical results show that one of the schemes provides significantly better performance in the presence of severe jitter than maximal ratio combining and minimal degradation of performance if jitter is not present. A generalized maximal ratio combining decision scheme to combat the presence of estimation error is also proposed. It is shown that the generalized scheme outperforms traditional maximal ratio combining

Implementation Aspects of a Transmitted-Reference UWB Receiver

In this paper, we discuss the design issues of an ultra wide band (UWB) receiver targeting a single-chip CMOS implementation for low data-rate applications like ad hoc wireless sensor networks. A non-coherent transmitted reference (TR) receiver is chosen because of its small complexity compared to other architectures. After a brief recapitulation of the UWB fundamentals and a short discussion on the major differences between coherent and non-coherent receivers, we discuss issues, challenges and possible design solutions. Several simulation results obtained by means of a behavioral model are presented, together with an analysis of the trade-off between performance and complexity in an integrated circuit implementation

Comparison of Bit Error Rate and Power Spectral Density on the Ultra Wideband Impulse Radio Systems

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is defined as a wireless transmission scheme that occupies a bandwidth of more than 25% of its center frequency. UWB Impulse Radio (UWB-IR) is a popular implementation of the UWB technology. In UWB-IR, information is encoded in baseband without any carrier modulation. Pulse shaping and baseband modulation scheme are two of the determinants on the performance of the UWB-IR. In this thesis, both temporal and spectral characteristics of the UWB-IR are examined because all radio signals exist in both the time and frequency domains. Firstly, the bit error rate (BER) performance of the UWB-IR is investigated via simulation using three modulation schemes: Pulse position modulation (PPM), on-off shift keying (OOK), and binary phase shift keying (BPSK). The results are verified for three different pulse shaping named Gaussian first derivative, Gaussian second derivative, and return-to-zero (RZ) Manchester. Secondly, the effects of the UWB-IR parameters on the power spectral density (PSD) are investigated because PSD provides information on how the power is distributed over the radio frequency (RF) spectrum and determines the interference of UWB-IR and the existing systems to each other in the spectrum. The investigated UWB-IR parameters include pulse duration, pulse repetition rate, modulation scheme, and pseudorandom codes

A Joint PHY/MAC Architecture for Low-Radiated Power TH-UWB Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

Due to environmental concerns and strict constraints on interference imposed on other networks, the radiated power of emerging pervasive wireless networks needs to be strictly limited, yet without sacrificing acceptable data rates. Pulsed Time-Hopping Ultra-Wide Band (TH-UWB) is a radio technology that has the potential to satisfy this requirement. Although TH-UWB is a multi-user radio technology, non-zero cross-correlation between time-hopping sequences, time-asynchronicity between sources and a multipath channel environment make it sensitive to strong interferers and near-far scenarios. While most protocols manage interference and multiple-access through power control or mutual exclusion (CSMA/CA or TDMA), we base our design on rate control, a relatively unexplored dimension for multiple-access and interference management. We further take advantage of the nature of pulsed TH-UWB to propose an interference mitigation scheme that reduces the impact of strong interferers. A source is always allowed to send and continuously adapts its channel code (hence its rate) to the interference experienced at the destination. In contrast to power control or exclusion, our MAC layer is local to sender and receiver and does not need coordination among neighbors not involved in the transmission. We show by simulation that we achieve a significant increase in network throughput

An enhanced pulse position modulation (PPM) in ultra-wideband (UWB) systems

Simplicity, transmission rate, and bit error rate (BER) performance are three major concerns for ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. The main advantage of existing pulse-position modulation (PPM) schemes is simplicity, but their BER performance is poorer than that of an on-off-keying (OOK) modulation scheme, and their transmission rate is lower than that of an OOK scheme. In this research project, I will explore a novel PPM scheme, which can maintain the simplicity of the PPM schemes as well as achieve a BER performance and a transmission rate similar to the OOK scheme. During the research, I will thoroughly investigate the relationship between pulse position allocation and the BER performance and the transmission rate of UWB systems through computer simulations and theoretical analysis, and develop a whole set of design rules for the novel PPM scheme

A General Framework for Analyzing, Characterizing, and Implementing Spectrally Modulated, Spectrally Encoded Signals

Fourth generation (4G) communications will support many capabilities while providing universal, high speed access. One potential enabler for these capabilities is software defined radio (SDR). When controlled by cognitive radio (CR) principles, the required waveform diversity is achieved via a synergistic union called CR-based SDR. Research is rapidly progressing in SDR hardware and software venues, but current CR-based SDR research lacks the theoretical foundation and analytic framework to permit efficient implementation. This limitation is addressed here by introducing a general framework for analyzing, characterizing, and implementing spectrally modulated, spectrally encoded (SMSE) signals within CR-based SDR architectures. Given orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a 4G candidate signal, OFDM-based signals are collectively classified as SMSE since modulation and encoding are spectrally applied. The proposed framework provides analytic commonality and unification of SMSE signals. Applicability is first shown for candidate 4G signals, and resultant analytic expressions agree with published results. Implementability is then demonstrated in multiple coexistence scenarios via modeling and simulation to reinforce practical utility

DSP algorithm and system design for UWB communication systems

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN