Highly efficient impulse-radio ultra-wideband cavity-backed slot antenna in stacked air-filled substrate integrated waveguide technology

An impulse-radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) cavity-backed slot antenna covering the [5.9803; 6.9989] GHz frequency band of the IEEE 802.15.4a-2011 standard is designed and implemented in an air-filled substrate integrated waveguide (AFSIW) technology for localization applications with an accuracy of at least 3 cm. By relying on both frequency and time-domain optimization, the antenna achieves excellent IR-UWB characteristics. In free-space conditions, an impedance bandwidth of 1.92 GHz (or 29.4%), a total efficiency higher than 89%, a front-to-back ratio of at least 12.1 dB, and a gain higher than 6.3 dBi are measured in the frequency domain. Furthermore, a system fidelity factor larger than 98% and a relative group delay smaller than 100 ps are measured in the time domain within the 3 dB beamwidth of the antenna. As a result, the measured time-of-arrival of a transmitted Gaussian pulse, for different angles of arrival, exhibits variations smaller than 100 ps, corresponding to a maximum distance estimation error of 3 cm. Additionally, the antenna is validated in a real-life worst-case deployment scenario, showing that its characteristics remain stable in a large variety of deployment scenarios. Finally, the difference in frequency-and time-domain performance is studied between the antenna implemented in AFSIW and in dielectric filled substrate integrated waveguide (DFSIW) technology. We conclude that DFSIW technology is less suitable for the envisaged precision IR-UWB localization application

Comprehensive design and propagation study of a compact dual band antenna for healthcare applications

In this paper, a dual band planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) has been investigated for cooperative on- and off-body communications. Free space and on-body performance parameters like return loss, bandwidth, radiation pattern and efficiency of this antenna are shown and investigated. The on- and off-body radio propagation channel performance at 2.45 GHz and 1.9 GHz have been investigated, respectively. Experimental investigations are performed both in the anechoic chamber and in an indoor environment. The path loss exponent has been extracted for both on- and off-body radio propagation scenarios. For on-body propagation, the path loss exponent is 2.48 and 2.22 in the anechoic chamber and indoor environment, respectively. The path loss exponent is 1.27 for off-body radio propagation situation. For on-body case, the path loss has been characterized for ten different locations on the body at 2.45 GHz, whereas for off-body case radio channel studies are performed for five different locations at 1.9 GHz. The proposed antenna shows a good on- and off-body radio channel performance

Numerical Study on Indoor Wideband Channel Characteristics with Different Internal Wall

Effects of material and configuration of the internal wall on the performance of wideband channel are investigated by using the Finite Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method. The indoor wideband channel characteristics, such as the path-loss, Root-Mean-Square (RMS) delay spread and number of the multipath components (MPCs), are presented. The simulated results demonstrate that the path-loss and MPCs are affected by the permittivity, dielectric loss tangent and thickness of the internal wall, while the RMS delay spread is almost not relevant with the dielectric permittivity. Furthermore, the comparison of simulated result with the measured one in a simple scenario has validated the simulation study

Frequency dependence of the UWB indoor propagation channel

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Measurement of Ultra Wideband Channel Sounding Using a Vector Network Analyzer

In this paper, we analyze the measurement of ultra wideband (UWB) noise channels in different indoor environments. All measurements are done using a vector network analyzer (VNA) which allows us to measure the noise channel transfer functions. We find that the noise power of the system is decreased by increasing the intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth which leads to an increase in time taken to perform measurements of the channels. Also, we measure the environmental noise power and find that it is slightly affected by fluorescent light sources inside the measurement environments. In addition, we find that the environmental noise is decreased when enclosed in a Faraday cage (steel shed), within an intense multipath measurement environment. We found that, the Environmental noise decreases slightly by using the LPDA antenna compared to using the Teardrop and Horn antennas. Our results show that the Horn antenna is less suitable for UWB channel measurements compared to the LPDA directional antennas because of lower S11 (Return Loss) values. While foromnidirectional antennas, the Teardrop antenna is much more suitable than the monocone antennas for UWB measurements (due to lower S11 values) and decreases the Environmental noise power. As secondary application, we show how a frequency detection device can be used to re-adjust a maladjusted frequency selection on a remote controller for a garage door, in presence of environmental noise power

Radio channel characterisation and system-level modelling for ultra wideband body-centric wireless communications

PhDThe next generation of wireless communication is evolving towards user-centric networks, where constant and reliable connectivity and services are essential. Bodycentric wireless network (BCWN) is the most exciting and emerging 4G technology for short (1-5 m) and very short (below 1 m) range communication systems. It has got numerous applications including healthcare, entertainment, surveillance, emergency, sports and military. The major difference between the BCWN and conventional wireless systems is the radio channel over which the communication takes place. The human body is a hostile medium from the radio propagation perspective and it is therefore important to understand and characterise the effect of the human body on the antenna elements, the radio propagation channel parameters and hence the system performance. In addition, fading is another concern that affects the reliability and quality of the wireless link, which needs to be taken into account for a low cost and reliable wireless communication system for body-centric networks. The complex nature of the BCWN requires operating wireless devices to provide low power requirements, less complexity, low cost and compactness in size. Apart from these characteristics, scalable data rates and robust performance in most fading conditions and jamming environment, even at low signal to noise ratio (SNR) is needed. Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is one of the most promising candidate for BCWN as it tends to fulfill most of these requirements. The thesis focuses on the characterisation of ultra wideband body-centric radio propagation channel using single and multiple antenna techniques. Apart from channel characterisation, system level modelling of potential UWB radio transceivers for body-centric wireless network is also proposed. Channel models with respect to large scale and delay analysis are derived from measured parameters. Results and analyses highlight the consequences of static and dynamic environments in addition to the antenna positions on the performance of body-centric wireless communication channels. Extensive measurement i campaigns are performed to analyse the significance of antenna diversity to combat the channel fading in body-centric wireless networks. Various diversity combining techniques are considered in this process. Measurement data are also used to predict the performance of potential UWB systems in the body-centric wireless networks. The study supports the significance of single and multiple antenna channel characterisation and modelling in producing suitable wireless systems for ultra low power body-centric wireless networks.University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Pakista

Time-Scale Domain Characterization of Time-Varying Ultrawideband Infostation Channel

The time-scale domain geometrical-based method for the characterization of the time varying ultrawideband (UWB) channel typical of an infostation channel is presented. Compared to methods that use Doppler shift as a measure of time-variation in the channel this model provides a more reliable measure of frequency dispersion caused by terminal mobility in the UWB infostation channel. Particularly, it offers carrier frequency independent method of computing wideband channel responses and parameters which are important for ultrawideband systems. Results show that the frequency dispersion of the channel depends on the frequency and not on the choice of bandwidth. And time dispersion depends on bandwidth and not on the frequency. It is also shown that for time-varying UWB, frame length defined over the coherence time obtained with reference to the carrier frequency results in an error margin which can be reduced by using the coherence time defined with respect to the maximum frequency in a given frequency band. And the estimation of the frequency offset using the time-scale domain (wideband) model presented here (especially in the case of multiband UWB frequency synchronization) is more accurate than using frequency offset estimate obtained from narrowband models

Modelling and characterisation of antennas and propagation for body-centric wireless communication

PhDBody-Centric Wireless Communication (BCWC) is a central point in the development of fourth generation mobile communications. The continuous miniaturisation of sensors, in addition to the advancement in wearable electronics, embedded software, digital signal processing and biomedical technologies, have led to a new concept of usercentric networks, where devices can be carried in the user’s pockets, attached to the user’s body or even implanted. Body-centric wireless networks take their place within the personal area networks, body area networks and body sensor networks which are all emerging technologies that have a broad range of applications such as healthcare and personal entertainment. The major difference between BCWC and conventional wireless systems is the radio channel over which the communication takes place. The human body is a hostile environment from radio propagation perspective and it is therefore important to understand and characterise the effect of the human body on the antenna elements, the radio channel parameters and hence the system performance. This is presented and highlighted in the thesis through a combination of experimental and electromagnetic numerical investigations, with a particular emphasis to the numerical analysis based on the finite-difference time-domain technique. The presented research work encapsulates the characteristics of the narrowband (2.4 GHz) and ultra wide-band (3-10 GHz) on-body radio channels with respect to different digital phantoms, body postures, and antenna types hence highlighting the effect of subject-specific modelling, static and dynamic environments and antenna performance on the overall body-centric network. The investigations covered extend further to include in-body communications where the radio channel for telemetry with medical implants is also analysed by considering the effect of different digital phantoms on the radio channel characteristics. The study supports the significance of developing powerful and reliable numerical modelling to be used in conjunction with measurement campaigns for a comprehensive understanding of the radio channel in body-centric wireless communication. It also emphasises the importance of considering subject-specific electromagnetic modelling to provide a reliable prediction of the network performance

Performance Enhancement of Multiuser Time Reversal UWB Communication System

UWB communication is a recent research area for indoor propagation channels. Time Reversal (TR) communication in UWB has shown promising results for improving the system performance. In multiuser environment, the system performance is significantly degraded due to the interference among different users. TR reduces the interference caused by multiusers due to its spatial focusing property. The performance of a multiuser TR communication system is further improved if the TR filter is modified. In this paper, multiuser TR in UWB communication is investigated using simple TR filter and a modified TR filter with circular shift operation. The concept of circular shift in TR is analytically studied. Thereafter, the channel impulse responses (CIR) of a typical indoor laboratory environment are measured. The measured CIRs are used to analyze the received signal peak power and signal to interference ratio (SIR) with and without performing the circular shift operation in a multiuser environment