Timing and Carrier Synchronization in Wireless Communication Systems: A Survey and Classification of Research in the Last 5 Years

Timing and carrier synchronization is a fundamental requirement for any wireless communication system to work properly. Timing synchronization is the process by which a receiver node determines the correct instants of time at which to sample the incoming signal. Carrier synchronization is the process by which a receiver adapts the frequency and phase of its local carrier oscillator with those of the received signal. In this paper, we survey the literature over the last 5 years (2010–2014) and present a comprehensive literature review and classification of the recent research progress in achieving timing and carrier synchronization in single-input single-output (SISO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), cooperative relaying, and multiuser/multicell interference networks. Considering both single-carrier and multi-carrier communication systems, we survey and categorize the timing and carrier synchronization techniques proposed for the different communication systems focusing on the system model assumptions for synchronization, the synchronization challenges, and the state-of-the-art synchronization solutions and their limitations. Finally, we envision some future research directions

Multipacket reception in the presence of in-band full-duplex communication

In-Band Full-DupleX (IB-FDX) is defined as the ability for nodes to transmit and receive signals simultaneously on the same channel. Conventional digital wireless networks do not implement it, since a node’s own transmission signal causes interference to the signal it is trying to receive. However, recent studies attempt to overcome this obstacle, since it can potentially double the spectral efficiency of current wireless networks. Different mechanisms exist today that are able to reduce a significant part of the Self- Interference (SI), although specially tuned Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols are required to optimize its use. One of IB-FDX’s biggest problems is that the nodes’ interference range is extended, meaning the unusable space for other transmissions and receptions is broader. This dissertation proposes using MultiPacket Reception (MPR) to address this issue and adapts an already existing Single-Carrier with Frequency-Domain Equalization (SC-FDE) receiver to IB-FDX. The performance analysis suggests that MPR and IB-FDX have a strong synergy and are able to achieve higher data rates, when used together. Using analytical models, the optimal transmission patterns and transmission power were identified, which maximize the channel capacity with the minimal energy consumption. This was used to define a new MAC protocol, named Full-duplex Multipacket reception Medium Access Control (FM-MAC). FM-MAC was designed for a single-hop cellular infrastructure, where the Access Point (AP) and the terminals implement both IB-FDX and MPR. It divides the coverage range of the AP into a closer Full-DupleX (FDX) zone and a farther Half-DupleX (HDX) zone and adds a tunable fairness mechanism to avoid terminal starvation. Simulation results show that this protocol provides efficient support for both HDX and FDX terminals, maximizing its capacity when more FDX terminals are used

Power Allocation in Wireless Relay Networks

This thesis is mainly concerned with power allocation issues in wireless relay networks where a single or multiple relays assist transmission from a single or multiple sources to a destination. First, a network model with a single source and multiple relays is considered, in which both cases of orthogonal and non--orthogonal relaying are investigated. For the case of orthogonal relaying, two power allocation schemes corresponding to two partial channel state information (CSI) assumptions are proposed. Given the lack of full and perfect CSI, appropriate signal processing at the relays and/or destination is also developed. The performance behavior of the system with power allocation between the source and the relays is also analyzed. For the case of non-orthogonal relaying, it is demonstrated that optimal power allocation is not sufficiently effective. Instead, a relay beamforming scheme is proposed. A comprehensive comparison between the orthogonal relaying with power allocation scheme and the non-orthogonal relaying with beamforming scheme is then carried out, which reveals several interesting conclusions with respect to both error performance and system throughput. In the second part of the thesis, a network model with multiple sources and a single relay is considered. The transmission model is applicable for uplink channels in cellular mobile systems in which multiple mobile terminals communicate with the base station with the help of a single relay station. Single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) technique with frequency domain equalization is adopted in order to avoid the amplification of the multiple access interference at the relay. Minimizing the transmit power at the relay and optimizing the fairness among the sources in terms of throughput are the two objectives considered in implementing power allocation schemes. The problems are visualized as water-filling and water-discharging models and two optimal power allocation schemes are proposed, accordingly. Finally, the last part of the thesis is extended to a network model with multiple sources and multiple relays. The orthogonal multiple access technique is employed in order to avoid multiple access interference. Proposed is a joint optimal beamforming and power allocation scheme in which an alternative optimization technique is applied to deal with the non-convexity of the power allocation problem. Furthermore, recognizing the high complexity and large overhead information exchange when the number of sources and relays increases, a relay selection scheme is proposed. Since each source is supported by at most one relay, the feedback information from the destination to each relay can be significantly reduced. Using an equal power allocation scheme, relay selection is still an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. Nevertheless, the proposed sub-optimal scheme yields a comparable performance with a much lower computational complexity and can be well suited for practical systems

Physical Layer Security in Wireless Networks: Design and Enhancement.

PhDSecurity and privacy have become increasingly significant concerns in wireless communication networks, due to the open nature of the wireless medium which makes the wireless transmission vulnerable to eavesdropping and inimical attacking. The emergence and development of decentralized and ad-hoc wireless networks pose great challenges to the implementation of higher-layer key distribution and management in practice. Against this background, physical layer security has emerged as an attractive approach for performing secure transmission in a low complexity manner. This thesis concentrates on physical layer security design and enhancement in wireless networks. First, this thesis presents a new unifying framework to analyze the average secrecy capacity and secrecy outage probability. Besides the exact average secrecy capacity and secrecy outage probability, a new approach for analyzing the asymptotic behavior is proposed to compute key performance parameters such as high signal-to-noise ratio slope, power offset, secrecy diversity order, and secrecy array gain. Typical fading environments such as two-wave with diffuse power and Nakagami-m are taken into account. Second, an analytical framework of using antenna selection schemes to achieve secrecy is provided. In particular, transmit antenna selection and generalized selection combining are considered including its special cases of selection combining and maximal-ratio combining. Third, the fundamental questions surrounding the joint impact of power constraints on the cognitive wiretap channel are addressed. Important design insights are revealed regarding the interplay between two power constraints, namely the maximum transmit at the secondary network and the peak interference power at the primary network. Fourth, secure single carrier transmission is considered in the two-hop decode-andi forward relay networks. A two-stage relay and destination selection is proposed to minimize the eavesdropping and maximize the signal power of the link between the relay and the destination. In two-hop amplify-and-forward untrusted relay networks, secrecy may not be guaranteed even in the absence of external eavesdroppers. As such, cooperative jamming with optimal power allocation is proposed to achieve non-zero secrecy rate. Fifth and last, physical layer security in large-scale wireless sensor networks is introduced. A stochastic geometry approach is adopted to model the positions of sensors, access points, sinks, and eavesdroppers. Two scenarios are considered: i) the active sensors transmit their sensing data to the access points, and ii) the active access points forward the data to the sinks. Important insights are concluded