On the Performance Limits of Pilot-Based Estimation of Bandlimited Frequency-Selective Communication Channels

In this paper the problem of assessing bounds on the accuracy of pilot-based estimation of a bandlimited frequency selective communication channel is tackled. Mean square error is taken as a figure of merit in channel estimation and a tapped-delay line model is adopted to represent a continuous time channel via a finite number of unknown parameters. This allows to derive some properties of optimal waveforms for channel sounding and closed form Cramer-Rao bounds

A Statistical Simulation Model for Mobile Radio Fading Channels

Recently, a Clarke\u27s model-based simulator was proposed for Rayleigh fading channels. However, that model, as shown in this paper, may encounter statistic deficiency. Therefore, an improved model is presented to remove the statistic deficiency. Furthermore, a new simulation model is proposed for Rician fading channels. This Rician fading simulator with finite number of sinusoids plus a zero-mean stochastic sinusoid as the specular (line-of-sight) component is different from all the existing Rician fading simulators, which have non-zero mean deterministic specular component. The statistical properties of the proposed Rayleigh and Rician fading channel models are analyzed in detail, which shows that these statistics either exactly match or quickly converge to the theoretically desired ones. Additionally and importantly, the probability density function of the Rician fading phase is not only independent from time but also uniformly distributed, which is fundamentally different from that of all the existing Rician fading models. The statistical properties of the new simulators are evaluated by numerical results, finding good agreement in all cases

Simulation Models with Correct Statistical Properties for Rayleigh Fading Channels

In this paper, new sum-of-sinusoids statistical simulation models are proposed for Rayleigh fading channels. These new models employ random path gain, random initial phase, and conditional random Doppler frequency for all individual sinusoids. It is shown that the autocorrelations and cross correlations of the quadrature components, and the autocorrelation of the complex envelope of the new simulators match the desired ones exactly, even if the number of sinusoids is as small as a single-digit integer. Moreover, the probability density functions of the envelope and phase, the level crossing rate, the average fade duration, and the autocorrelation of the squared fading envelope which contains fourth-order statistics of the new simulators, asymptotically approach the correct ones as the number of sinusoids approaches infinity, while good convergence is achieved even when the number of sinusoids is as small as eight. The new simulators can be directly used to generate multiple uncorrelated fading waveforms for frequency selective fading channels, multiple-input multiple-output channels, and diversity combining scenarios. Statistical properties of one of the new simulators are evaluated by numerical results, finding good agreements

Hardware emulation of wireless communication fading channels

This dissertation investigates several main challenges to implementing hardware-based wireless fading channel emulators with emphasis on incorporating accurate correlation properties. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fading channels are usually triply-selective with three types of correlation: temporal correlation, inter-tap correlation, and spatial correlation. The proposed emulators implement the triply-selective fading Channel Impulse Response (CIR) by incorporating the three types of correlation into multiple uncorrelated frequency-flat Rayleigh fading waveforms while meeting real-time requirements for high data-rate, large-sized MIMO, and/or long CIR channels. Specifically, mixed parallel-serial computational structures are implemented for Kronecker products of the correlation matrices, which makes the best tradeoff between computational speed and hardware usage. Five practical fading channel examples are implemented for RF or underwater acoustic MIMO applications. The performance of the hardware emulators are verified with an Altera Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform and the results match the software simulators in terms of statistical and correlation properties. The dissertation also contributes to the development of a 2-by-2 MIMO transceiver testbench that is used to measure real-world fading channels. Intensive channel measurements are performed for indoor fixed mobile-to-mobile channels and the estimated CIRs demonstrate the triply-selective correlation properties --Abstract, page iv

GQR models for multipath Rayleigh fading channels

In this paper, reduced complexity statistical models for the representation of wide sense stationary-uncorrelated scattering doubly selective fading channels are developed. Their derivation is based on the evaluation of Fourier integrals by means of Gaussian quadrature rules. The accuracy and the complexity of the proposed models is assessed, and is then compared to that provided by other modeling techniques available in the literature