Timing and Frequency Synchronization and Channel Estimation in OFDM-based Systems

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) due to its appealing features, such as robustness against frequency selective fading and simple channel equalization, is adopted in communications systems such as WLAN, WiMAX and DVB. However, OFDM systems are sensitive to synchronization errors caused by timing and frequency offsets. Besides, the OFDM receiver has to perform channel estimation for coherent detection. The goal of this thesis is to investigate new methods for timing and frequency synchronization and channel estimation in OFDM-based systems. First, we investigate new methods for preamble-aided coarse timing estimation in OFDM systems. Two novel timing metrics using high order statistics-based correlation and differential normalization functions are proposed. The performance of the new timing metrics is evaluated using different criteria including class-separability, robustness to the carrier frequency offset, and computational complexity. It is shown that the new timing metrics can considerably increase the class-separability due to their more distinct values at correct and wrong timing instants, and thus give a significantly better detection performance than the existing timing metrics do. Furthermore, a new method for coarse estimation of the start of the frame is proposed, which remarkably reduces the probability of inter-symbol interference (ISI). The improved performances of the new schemes in multipath fading channels are shown by the probabilities of false alarm, missed-detection and ISI obtained through computer simulations. Second, a novel pilot-aided algorithm is proposed for the detection of integer frequency offset (IFO) in OFDM systems. By transforming the IFO into two new integer parameters, the proposed method can largely reduce the number of trial values for the true IFO. The two new integer parameters are detected using two different pilot sequences, a periodic pilot sequence and an aperiodic pilot sequence. It is shown that the new scheme can significantly reduce the computational complexity while achieving almost the same performance as the previous methods do. Third, we propose a method for joint timing and frequency synchronization and channel estimation for OFDM systems that operate in doubly selective channels. Basis expansion modeling (BEM) that captures the time variations of the channel is used to reduce the number of unknown channel parameters. The BEM coefficients along with the timing and frequency offsets are estimated by using a maximum likelihood (ML) approach. An efficient algorithm is then proposed for reducing the computational complexity of the joint estimation. The complexity of the new method is assessed in terms of the number of multiplications. The mean square estimation error of the proposed method is evaluated in comparison with previous methods, indicating a remarkable performance improvement by the new method. Fourth, we present a new scheme for joint estimation of CFO and doubly selective channel in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems. In the proposed preamble-aided method, the time-varying channel is represented using BEM. CFO and BEM coefficients are estimated using the principles of particle and Kalman filtering. The performance of the new method in multipath time-varying channels is investigated in comparison with previous schemes. The simulation results indicate a remarkable performance improvement in terms of the mean square errors of CFO and channel estimates. Fifth, a novel algorithm is proposed for timing and frequency synchronization and channel estimation in the uplink of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems by considering high-mobility situations and the generalized subcarrier assignment. By using BEM to represent a doubly selective channel, a maximum likelihood (ML) approach is proposed to jointly estimate the timing and frequency offsets of different users as well as the BEM coefficients of the time-varying channels. A space-alternating generalized expectation-maximization algorithm is then employed to transform the maximization problem for all users into several simpler maximization problems for each user. The computational complexity of the new timing and frequency offset estimator is analyzed and its performance in comparison with that of existing methods using the mean square error is evaluated . Finally, two novel approaches for joint CFO and doubly selective channel estimation in the uplink of multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MIMO-OFDMA) systems are presented. Considering high-mobility situations, where channels change within an OFDMA symbol interval, and the time varying nature of CFOs, BEM is employed to represent the time variations of the channel. Two new approaches are then proposed based on Schmidt Kalman filtering (SKF). The first approach utilizes Schmidt extended Kalman filtering for each user to estimate the CFO and BEM coefficients. The second approach uses Gaussian particle filter along with SKF to estimate the CFO and BEM coefficients of each user. The Bayesian Cramer Rao bound is derived, and performance of the new schemes are evaluated using mean square error. It is demonstrated that the new schemes can significantly improve the mean square error performance in comparison with that of the existing methods

Decentralized Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications through Concurrent Cooperative Transmission

Emerging cyber-physical systems demand for communication technologies that enable seamless interactions between humans and physical objects in a shared environment. This thesis proposes decentralized URLLC (dURLLC) as a new communication paradigm that allows the nodes in a wireless multi-hop network (WMN) to disseminate data quickly, reliably and without using a centralized infrastructure. To enable the dURLLC paradigm, this thesis explores the practical feasibility of concurrent cooperative transmission (CCT) with orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). CCT allows for an efficient utilization of the medium by leveraging interference instead of trying to avoid collisions. CCT-based network flooding disseminates data in a WMN through a reception-triggered low-level medium access control (MAC). OFDM provides high data rates by using a large bandwidth, resulting in a short transmission duration for a given amount of data. This thesis explores CCT-based network flooding with the OFDM-based IEEE 802.11 Non-HT and HT physical layers (PHYs) to enable interactions with commercial devices. An analysis of CCT with the IEEE 802.11 Non-HT PHY investigates the combined effects of the phase offset (PO), the carrier frequency offset (CFO) and the time offset (TO) between concurrent transmitters, as well as the elapsed time. The analytical results of the decodability of a CCT are validated in simulations and in testbed experiments with Wireless Open Access Research Platform (WARP) v3 software-defined radios (SDRs). CCT with coherent interference (CI) is the primary approach of this thesis. Two prototypes for CCT with CI are presented that feature mechanisms for precise synchronization in time and frequency. One prototype is based on the WARP v3 and its IEEE 802.11 reference design, whereas the other prototype is created through firmware modifications of the Asus RT-AC86U wireless router. Both prototypes are employed in testbed experiments in which two groups of nodes generate successive CCTs in a ping-pong fashion to emulate flooding processes with a very large number of hops. The nodes stay synchronized in experiments with 10 000 successive CCTs for various modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indices and MAC service data unit (MSDU) sizes. The URLLC requirement of delivering a 32-byte MSDU with a reliability of 99.999 % and with a latency of 1 ms is assessed in experiments with 1 000 000 CCTs, while the reliability is approximated by means of the frame reception rate (FRR). An FRR of at least 99.999 % is achieved at PHY data rates of up to 48 Mbit/s under line-of-sight (LOS) conditions and at PHY data rates of up to 12 Mbit/s under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions on a 20 MHz wide channel, while the latency per hop is 48.2 µs and 80.2 µs, respectively. With four multiple input multiple output (MIMO) spatial streams on a 40 MHz wide channel, a LOS receiver achieves an FRR of 99.5 % at a PHY data rate of 324 Mbit/s. For CCT with incoherent interference, this thesis proposes equalization with time-variant zero-forcing (TVZF) and presents a TVZF receiver for the IEEE 802.11 Non-HT PHY, achieving an FRR of up to 92 % for CCTs from three unsyntonized commercial devices. As CCT-based network flooding allows for an implicit time synchronization of all nodes, a reception-triggered low-level MAC and a reservation-based high-level MAC may in combination support various applications and scenarios under the dURLLC paradigm

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Communications Systems Using Reconfigurable Antennas

RÉSUMÉ Depuis les années 1990, l'utilisation des systèmes de communications sans-fil à entrées multiples-sorties multiples (MIMO) a été introduit pour fournir des transmissions fiables à grande vitesse. Cette thèse porte sur l'application et l’étude des systèmes MIMO avec des antennes reconfigurables, qui sont ajustable électroniquement pour produire différents diagrammes de rayonnement d'un seul élément d'antenne et ainsi offrir une diversité de diagrammes de rayonnement. En particulier, nous étudions le comportement de la capacité de canal des systèmes MIMO à sélection de diagrammes de rayonnement (PS-MIMO), et nous proposons aussi des algorithmes de sélection du diagramme de rayonnement atteignant la capacité maximale. Tout d'abord, nous étudions l'application des antennes reconfigurables dans l'estimation des statistiques spatiales à long terme de canaux spatiaux avec grappes de multi-trajets (cluster). Nous proposons un estimateur de spectre de type Capon et une technique d'adaptation de la covariance (COMET) pour estimer conjointement l'angle moyen et l’étalement angulaire de la grappe spatiale avec des antennes reconfigurables. En second lieu, sur la base des statistiques à long terme du canal MIMO, nous proposons des algorithmes de sélection de diagramme de rayonnement MIMO (SPS-MIMO) pour atteindre la capacité maximale de canal ergodique. L'analyse de la maximisation de la capacité ergodique du système SPS-MIMO indique que le modèle statistique de sélection fournit des gains supplémentaires en améliorant la puissance du signal reçu et en décorrélant les signaux reçus avec différents diagrammes de rayonnement directionnels. Troisièmement, nous nous concentrons sur le modèle de sélection instantanée des diagrammes de rayonnement MIMO (IPS-MIMO) basé sur des informations instantanées d'état de canal (CSI) afin de maximiser la capacité instantanée pour chaque réalisation de canal. Nous démontrons que l’ordre de diversité des systèmes MIMO peut être multipliée par le nombre de diagrammes de rayonnement avec sélection de diagramme instantanée. Afin d'évaluer la capacité moyenne de l'IPS-MIMO, nous proposons un nouvel algorithme qui permet d’approximer étroitement la moyenne de la valeur maximale de la capacité du canal MIMO avec des trajets arbitrairement corrélés. Nous proposons également un algorithme pour sélectionner instantanément les diagrammes de rayonnement pour atteindre la capacité moyenne. En outre, sur la base d'une simple expression en forme fermée de la capacité coefficient de corrélation, nous sommes en mesure de proposer un algorithme de sélection de sous-ensemble de diagrammes qui offre un compromis entre performances et la complexité de l’algorithme de sélection. En conclusion, des gains de performance importants peuvent être obtenus grâce à la combinaison de l'utilisation d’antennes reconfigurables et de systèmes MIMO avec soit des algorithmes de sélection de diagramme de rayonnement statistique ou instantanée. La capacité des systèmes PS-MIMO à améliorer les performances du système, y compris la capacité et de l'ordre de la diversité, est démontrée par l'analyse théorique et des simulations numériques.----------ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems has been introduced to modern wireless communications to provide reliable transmission at high data rates. This thesis focuses on the application of MIMO systems with reconfigurable antennas, which are electronically tunable to produce a number of radiation patterns at a single antenna element and provide pattern diversity. In particular, we investigate the capacity performance of the pattern selection MIMO (PS-MIMO) systems, and we also present maximum capacity achieving algorithms for radiation pattern selection. First, we investigate the application of reconfigurable antennas in estimating long term spatial statistics of spatial clustered channels. We propose a Capon-like spectrum estimator and a covariance matching technique (COMET) to jointly estimate the mean angle and the angular spread of the spatial cluster with reconfigurable antennas. Second, based on the long term statistics of the MIMO channel, we propose statistical pattern selection MIMO (SPS-MIMO) algorithms to achieve maximum ergodic channel capacity. Analysis of the ergodic capacity maximization of the SPS-MIMO indicates that the statistical pattern selection provides additional gains by enhancing received signal power and decorrelating received signals with different directional radiation patterns. Third, we focus on the instantaneous pattern selection MIMO (IPS-MIMO) based on instantaneous channel state information (CSI) in order to maximize the instantaneous capacity for every channel realization. We prove that the diversity order of MIMO systems can be multiplied by the number of radiation patterns with instantaneous pattern selection. In order to evaluate the mean capacity of the IPS-MIMO, we propose a novel algorithm which closely approximates the mean of the maximum of the channel capacity of arbitrarily correlated MIMO channels. We also propose an algorithm for instantaneously selecting radiation patterns to achieve the mean capacity. In addition, based on a simple closed-form approximation to the capacity correlation coefficient, we are able to propose a subset pattern selection algorithm which enables the trade-off between performances and complexity. In conclusion, important extra gains can be obtained as a result of combining the use of reconfigurable antennas and MIMO systems with either statistical or instantaneous radiation pattern selection. The capability of the PS-MIMO to improve system performances, including capacity and diversity order, is demonstrated through theoretical analysis and numerical simulations