Spectrum Optimisation in Wireless Communication Systems: Technology Evaluation, System Design and Practical Implementation

Two key technology enablers for next generation networks are examined in this thesis, namely Cognitive Radio (CR) and Spectrally Efficient Frequency Division Multiplexing (SEFDM). The first part proposes the use of traffic prediction in CR systems to improve the Quality of Service (QoS) for CR users. A framework is presented which allows CR users to capture a frequency slot in an idle licensed channel occupied by primary users. This is achieved by using CR to sense and select target spectrum bands combined with traffic prediction to determine the optimum channel-sensing order. The latter part of this thesis considers the design, practical implementation and performance evaluation of SEFDM. The key challenge that arises in SEFDM is the self-created interference which complicates the design of receiver architectures. Previous work has focused on the development of sophisticated detection algorithms, however, these suffer from an impractical computational complexity. Consequently, the aim of this work is two-fold; first, to reduce the complexity of existing algorithms to make them better-suited for application in the real world; second, to develop hardware prototypes to assess the feasibility of employing SEFDM in practical systems. The impact of oversampling and fixed-point effects on the performance of SEFDM is initially determined, followed by the design and implementation of linear detection techniques using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The performance of these FPGA based linear receivers is evaluated in terms of throughput, resource utilisation and Bit Error Rate (BER). Finally, variants of the Sphere Decoding (SD) algorithm are investigated to ameliorate the error performance of SEFDM systems with targeted reduction in complexity. The Fixed SD (FSD) algorithm is implemented on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to measure its computational complexity. Modified sorting and decomposition strategies are then applied to this FSD algorithm offering trade-offs between execution speed and BER

Estimation de canal et Synchronisation pour les systèmes OFDM en présence de mobilité

Ce mémoire d'HDR retrace huit années d'études théoriques sur les télécommunications dans le domaine des transports, et plus particulièrement sur l'estimation du canal. Ce travail s'inscrit dans un contexte où les télécommunications jouent un rôle de plus en plus important dans les activités de transport, le contrôle des trains, ainsi que les services et commodités offerts aux voyageurs. La spécificité des télécommunications dans les transports par rapport aux télécommunications fixes est la présence de mobilité plus ou moins forte selon le type d'application. Nous avons organisé notre mémoire en deux grandes parties : une partie traitant les variations lentes du canal, et une partie traitant les variations rapides. Les variations peuvent être considérées comme lentes si les interférences entre porteuses dues à l'effet Doppler sont négligeables. Dans ce cas, le modèle classique, le modèle auto-régressif d'ordre 1, utilisé pour approcher les variations du canal s'avère très peu performant. Nous avons alors proposé plusieurs solutions d'estimation du canal qui s'appuient sur un modèle plus performant dans ce contexte, le modèle à marche aléatoire. Dans un premier temps, nous avons proposé une famille de solutions optimales à base de filtre de Kalman. Pour réduire la complexité, nous avons ensuite étudié une famille de solutions à base de boucles de poursuites. Les résultats théoriques sur le réglage de ces solutions sont apportés. Dans le cas où les interférences entre porteuses ne peuvent plus être considérées comme négligeables (le cas variations rapides), nous avons alors proposé des solutions d'estimation de canal qui tiennent compte de ces interférences. Nous avons également exploré l'approche "turbo" pour l'annulation des interférences. La formulation du filtrage de Kalman souple dans ce contexte turbo est présentée en détail dans ce mémoire. Enfin, nous terminons ce mémoire en détaillant les perspectives de recherche, qui s'articulent autour de la radio intelligente et des réseaux de capteurs. Les résultats d'une campagne de mesure en TGV seront également exploités à court terme pour affiner nos modèles

Statistical priority-based uplink scheduling for M2M communications

Currently, the worldwide network is witnessing major efforts to transform it from being the Internet of humans only to becoming the Internet of Things (IoT). It is expected that Machine Type Communication Devices (MTCDs) will overwhelm the cellular networks with huge traffic of data that they collect from their environments to be sent to other remote MTCDs for processing thus forming what is known as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) appear as the best technology to support M2M communications due to their native IP support. LTE can provide high capacity, flexible radio resource allocation and scalability, which are the required pillars for supporting the expected large numbers of deployed MTCDs. Supporting M2M communications over LTE faces many challenges. These challenges include medium access control and the allocation of radio resources among MTCDs. The problem of radio resources allocation, or scheduling, originates from the nature of M2M traffic. This traffic consists of a large number of small data packets, with specific deadlines, generated by a potentially massive number of MTCDs. M2M traffic is therefore mostly in the uplink direction, i.e. from MTCDs to the base station (known as eNB in LTE terminology). These characteristics impose some design requirements on M2M scheduling techniques such as the need to use insufficient radio resources to transmit a huge amount of traffic within certain deadlines. This presents the main motivation behind this thesis work. In this thesis, we introduce a novel M2M scheduling scheme that utilizes what we term the “statistical priority” in determining the importance of information carried by data packets. Statistical priority is calculated based on the statistical features of the data such as value similarity, trend similarity and auto-correlation. These calculations are made and then reported by the MTCDs to the serving eNBs along with other reports such as channel state. Statistical priority is then used to assign priorities to data packets so that the scarce radio resources are allocated to the MTCDs that are sending statistically important information. This would help avoid exploiting limited radio resources to carry redundant or repetitive data which is a common situation in M2M communications. In order to validate our technique, we perform a simulation-based comparison among the main scheduling techniques and our proposed statistical priority-based scheduling technique. This comparison was conducted in a network that includes different types of MTCDs, such as environmental monitoring sensors, surveillance cameras and alarms. The results show that our proposed statistical priority-based scheduler outperforms the other schedulers in terms of having the least losses of alarm data packets and the highest rate in sending critical data packets that carry non-redundant information for both environmental monitoring and video traffic. This indicates that the proposed technique is the most efficient in the utilization of limited radio resources as compared to the other techniques

Convergence of packet communications over the evolved mobile networks; signal processing and protocol performance

In this thesis, the convergence of packet communications over the evolved mobile networks is studied. The Long Term Evolution (LTE) process is dominating the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in order to bring technologies to the markets in the spirit of continuous innovation. The global markets of mobile information services are growing towards the Mobile Information Society. The thesis begins with the principles and theories of the multiple-access transmission schemes, transmitter receiver techniques and signal processing algorithms. Next, packet communications and Internet protocols are referred from the IETF standards with the characteristics of mobile communications in the focus. The mobile network architecture and protocols bind together the evolved packet system of Internet communications to the radio access network technologies. Specifics of the traffic models are shortly visited for their statistical meaning in the radio performance analysis. Radio resource management algorithms and protocols, also procedures, are covered addressing their relevance for the system performance. Throughout these Chapters, the commonalities and differentiators of the WCDMA, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE are covered. The main outcome of the thesis is the performance analysis of the LTE technology beginning from the early discoveries to the analysis of various system features and finally converging to an extensive system analysis campaign. The system performance is analysed with the characteristics of voice over the Internet and best effort traffic of the Internet. These traffic classes represent the majority of the mobile traffic in the converged packet networks, and yet they are simple enough for a fair and generic analysis of technologies. The thesis consists of publications and inventions created by the author that proposed several improvements to the 3G technologies towards the LTE. In the system analysis, the LTE showed by the factor of at least 2.5 to 3 times higher system measures compared to the WCDMA/HSPA reference. The WCDMA/HSPA networks are currently available with over 400 million subscribers and showing increasing growth, in the meanwhile the first LTE roll-outs are scheduled to begin in 2010. Sophisticated 3G LTE mobile devices are expected to appear fluently for all consumer segments in the following years

Optical fibre communication over a noisy partially coherent channel

As global IP traffic grows unceasingly, optical networks demand for technology upgrades in order to keep the feared “capacity crunch” away. The most celebrated technologies of coherent detection and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), widely deployed in long-haul links, are gaining ground in access networks, which is particularly challenging due to the shared-cost requirements, leading to denser channel spacings and the use of cheaper devices that tend to be noisier. In order to make the most of this technology combination, it is crucial to have a model of the channel that accurately describes all the present sources of noise. Traditionally, the most used model has been the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel, which, although only accounting for a linear contribution of complex noise and being insensitive to rotational phenomena, has shown its validity in numerous studies, as well as in commercial equipment. In this thesis, however, it is observed that the adoption of coherent detection and WDM, with lower-grade semiconductor lasers showing a moderate linewidth, yields scenarios where a phase-sensitive model becomes a must. The partially coherent AWGN (PCAWGN) channel is a popular choice that fulfils this need, but its high complexity due to non-trivial functions involved, deprives it from being suitable in high-speed digital circuits. The main goal of this thesis is to describe a reduced-complexity approximation in polar coordinates, accurate enough to find its applicability in modern systems. Furthermore, this works explores some possible end-to-end applications, like channel capacity estimation or symbol detection, assessing its performance by means of extensive simulations. Lastly, the emerging field of complex modulation of directly modulated lasers is revisited, with a special interest in how the proposed approximation can help to improve the performance of previously reported techniques, as well as proposing a new way to design spiral-shaped constellations aimed to maximise the channel capacity

Oblique Sounding and HF Communication Techniques for Very Long Haul Ionospheric Links

El sistema de comunicació ràdio d’alta freqüència (HF, en anglès) és usat arreu del món per agències governamentals i no governamentals sempre que calgui una alternativa a les comunicacions via satèl•lit: vaixells a alta mar, avions fora de cobertura de xarxes ràdio amb visió directa, operacions militars, zones on la infraestructura ha estat destruïda per algun tipus de desastre o bé zones llunyanes sense cap altre tipus de comunicació. La ràdio HF representa una alternativa, o un sistema de backup al satèl•lit per a comunicacions de llarg abast i en redueix els costos, evita la vulnerabilitat i els problemes de sobirania. En aquesta tesi s’ha estudiat l’enllaç HF entre la base antàrtica espanyola Juan Carlos I, situada a l’illa Livingston a l’arxipèlag de les Shetland del Sud, i Espanya. L’objectiu d’aquest treball és estudiar els problemes que afecten la propagació; és a dir, la relació senyal a soroll i interferència, la dispersió multicamí i la dispersió per efecte Doppler, i dissenyar la capa física d’un enllaç HF de baixa velocitat, poca potència i llarg abast. Pel que fa aquest últim punt es fan un parell de propostes: espectre eixamplat per seqüència directa (DSSS, en anglès) i multiplexació per divisió en freqüència ortogonal (OFDM, en anglès). El repte que es planteja és el de la definició de les característiques dels símbols que millor encaixen en aquest canal per tal d’obtenir un benefici de la diversitat temporal i freqüencial que ofereix el canal. Des de l’any 2003 diverses campanyes han permès estudiar aquest canal HF, però no va ser fins la campanya 2009/2010 que s’obtingué un foto de les característiques, diürnes i nocturnes, de la ionosfera. En els articles que es presenten en aquesta tesi hem estès el rang freqüencial d’estudi respecte a investigacions prèvies i hem mostrat diferències de comportament entre el dia i la nit. Hem usat els resultats de la caracterització del canal per a dissenyar i comparar la bondat dels símbols DSSS i OFDM. Ambdues possibilitats han resultat ser candidates a implementar l’enllaç HF entre l’Antàrtida i Espanya. Tot i així, ambdues tècniques representen visions diferents de la implementació del mòdem: mentre que DSSS obté bons resultats a baixa velocitat en entorns amb baixa relació senyal a soroll, OFDM aconsegueix tasses de velocitat més elevades en canals més benignes.Los sistemas de radio de alta frecuencia (HF, en inglés) son usados por agencias gubernamentales y no gubernamentales en todo el mundo siempre que se necesite una alternativa a las comunicaciones por satélite: barcos en alta mar, aviones fuera del rango de cobertura de las redes radio de visión directa, operaciones militares, zonas donde la infraestructura ha sido destruida por algún desastre. Ésta ofrece una alternativa, o representa un sistema de backup, a las comunicaciones vía satélite, evitando los costes, la vulnerabilidad y los problemas de soberanía de las comunicaciones por satélite. En esta tesis se ha estudiado el enlace HF entre la base antártica española Juan Carlos I en la isla Livingston, en las Shetland del sur y España. El objetivo de este trabajo es el estudio de las limitaciones de la propagación ionosférica (como la relación señal a ruido e interferencia, la dispersión multicamino y la dispersión por efecto Doppler) y el diseño de la capa física de un enlace HF de baja velocidad, baja potencia y largo alcance. Se han estudiado un par de propuestas para este enlace, como son el espectro ensanchado por secuencia directa (DSSS, en inglés) y la multiplexación por división en frecuencia ortogonal (OFDM, en inglés). El reto ha sido definir las características que mejor se adecuan a este enlace para poder aprovechar la diversidad temporal y frecuencial que ofrece el canal HF. Desde el año 2003 diversas campañas de sondeo han permitido estudiar el canal HF pero no es hasta la campaña 2009/2010 que se consigue una fotografía de la actividad ionosférica tanto nocturna como diurna. En los artículos que se presentan en esta tesis hemos extendido los estudios previos a todo el rango de frecuencias HF y hemos mostrado las diferencias entre el día y la noche. Hemos usado estos resultados de caracterización del canal para diseñar y comparar símbolos DSSS y símbolos OFDM. Ambas posibilidades han resultado ser posibles candidatas para implementar un enlace HF de baja velocidad entre la Antártida y España. Sin embargo ambas técnicas representan dos aproximaciones distintas a la implementación del módem. Mientras que DSSS consigue un buen funcionamiento a baja velocidad en escenarios con baja relación señal a ruido, OFDM consigue tasas de transmisión más altas en escenarios más benignos.High Frequency (HF) radio is used by governmental and non nongovernmental agencies worldwide whenever an alternative to satellites for sky wave communication is needed: ships at sea, aircraft out of range of line-of-sight radio networks, military operations, disaster areas with communication infrastructure destroyed or distant regions lacking other communications. It offers an alternative to satellites, or a backup, for long-haul communications, thus avoiding the costs, vulnerabilities and sovereignty concerns of satellite communications. In this thesis the HF link between the Antarctic Spanish Station Juan Carlos I in Livingston Island, South Shetlands and Spain is studied. The aim of this study is to address the impairments that affect HF propagation (i.e., signal-to-noise plus interference ratio, multipath and Doppler shift and spread) and to design the physical layer of a low rate, low power and long-haul HF link. Some proposals regarding this last issue are addressed, i.e., direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The challenge is to define the symbol characteristics that best fit the link to benefit from time and frequency diversity that offers the HF channel. Since 2003 several transmission campaigns have allowed to study the HF channel but it is not until the 2009/2010 campaign that we have achieved a whole picture of both diurnal and nocturnal ionospheric activity. In the papers presented in this thesis we have extended the previous research to the whole range of HF frequencies and we have shown the differences on performance between day and night. We have used the results from channel characterization to design and compare the performance of DSSS and OFDM symbols. Both techniques have turned out to be possible candidates to implement a low rate HF link between Antarctica and Spain. However, both techniques stand for different approaches of the modem: DSSS achieves good performance at low data rate in low SNR scenarios, whereas OFDM achieves higher data rate in benign channel

Bowdoin Orient v.93, no.1-21 (1963-1964)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-1960s/1004/thumbnail.jp