A Near-Optimal Linear Crosstalk Canceler for Upstream VDSL

Crosstalk is the major source of performance degradation in VDSL. Several crosstalk cancelers have been proposed to address this. Unfortunately, they suffer from error propagation, high complexity, and long latency. This paper presents a simple, linear zero-forcing (ZF) crosstalk canceler. This design has a low complexity and no latency and does not suffer from error propagation. Furthermore, due to the well-conditioned structure of the VDSL channel matrix, the ZF design causes negligible noise enhancement. A lower bound on the performance of the linear ZF canceler is derived. This allows performance to be predicted without explicit knowledge of the crosstalk channels, which simplifies service provisioning considerably. This bound shows that the linear ZF canceler operates close to the single-user bound. Therefore, the linear ZF canceler is a low-complexity, low-latency design with predictable near-optimal performance. The combination of spectral optimization and crosstalk cancellation is also considered. Spectra optimization in a multiaccess channel generally involves a complex optimization problem. Since the linear ZF canceler decouples transmission on each line, the spectrum on each modem can be optimized independently, leading to a significant reduction in complexity

Error performance analysis of cross QAM and space-time labeling diversity for cross QAM.

Doctoral Degrees. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Abstract available in the PD

Unified Framework for Multicarrier and Multiple Access based on Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing

The advancements in wireless communications are the key-enablers of new applications with stringent requirements in low-latency, ultra-reliability, high data rate, high mobility, and massive connectivity. Diverse types of devices, ranging from tiny sensors to vehicles, with different capabilities need to be connected under various channel conditions. Thus, modern connectivity and network techniques at all layers are essential to overcome these challenges. In particular, the physical layer (PHY) transmission is required to achieve certain link reliability, data rate, and latency. In modern digital communications systems, the transmission is performed by means of a digital signal processing module that derives analog hardware. The performance of the analog part is influenced by the quality of the hardware and the baseband signal denoted as waveform. In most of the modern systems such as fifth generation (5G) and WiFi, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is adopted as a favorite waveform due to its low-complexity advantages in terms of signal processing. However, OFDM requires strict requirements on hardware quality. Many devices are equipped with simplified analog hardware to reduce the cost. In this case, OFDM does not work properly as a result of its high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and sensitivity to synchronization errors. To tackle these problems, many waveforms design have been recently proposed in the literature. Some of these designs are modified versions of OFDM or based on conventional single subcarrier. Moreover, multicarrier frameworks, such as generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), have been proposed to realize varieties of conventional waveforms. Furthermore, recent studies show the potential of using non-conventional waveforms for increasing the link reliability with affordable complexity. Based on that, flexible waveforms and transmission techniques are necessary to adapt the system for different hardware and channel constraints in order to fulfill the applications requirements while optimizing the resources. The objective of this thesis is to provide a holistic view of waveforms and the related multiple access (MA) techniques to enable efficient study and evaluation of different approaches. First, the wireless communications system is reviewed with specific focus on the impact of hardware impairments and the wireless channel on the waveform design. Then, generalized model of waveforms and MA are presented highlighting various special cases. Finally, this work introduces low-complexity architectures for hardware implementation of flexible waveforms. Integrating such designs with software-defined radio (SDR) contributes to the development of practical real-time flexible PHY.:1 Introduction 1.1 Baseband transmission model 1.2 History of multicarrier systems 1.3 The state-of-the-art waveforms 1.4 Prior works related to GFDM 1.5 Objective and contributions 2 Fundamentals of Wireless Communications 2.1 Wireless communications system 2.2 RF transceiver 2.2.1 Digital-analogue conversion 2.2.2 QAM modulation 2.2.3 Effective channel 2.2.4 Hardware impairments 2.3 Waveform aspects 2.3.1 Single-carrier waveform 2.3.2 Multicarrier waveform 2.3.3 MIMO-Waveforms 2.3.4 Waveform performance metrics 2.4 Wireless Channel 2.4.1 Line-of-sight propagation 2.4.2 Multi path and fading process 2.4.3 General baseband statistical channel model 2.4.4 MIMO channel 2.5 Summary 3 Generic Block-based Waveforms 3.1 Block-based waveform formulation 3.1.1 Variable-rate multicarrier 3.1.2 General block-based multicarrier model 3.2 Waveform processing techniques 3.2.1 Linear and circular filtering 3.2.2 Windowing 3.3 Structured representation 3.3.1 Modulator 3.3.2 Demodulator 3.3.3 MIMO Waveform processing 3.4 Detection 3.4.1 Maximum-likelihood detection 3.4.2 Linear detection 3.4.3 Iterative Detection 3.4.4 Numerical example and insights 3.5 Summary 4 Generic Multiple Access Schemes 57 4.1 Basic multiple access and multiplexing schemes 4.1.1 Infrastructure network system model 4.1.2 Duplex schemes 4.1.3 Common multiplexing and multiple access schemes 4.2 General multicarrier-based multiple access 4.2.1 Design with fixed set of pulses 4.2.2 Computational model 4.2.3 Asynchronous multiple access 4.3 Summary 5 Time-Frequency Analyses of Multicarrier 5.1 General time-frequency representation 5.1.1 Block representation 5.1.2 Relation to Zak transform 5.2 Time-frequency spreading 5.3 Time-frequency block in LTV channel 5.3.1 Subcarrier and subsymbol numerology 5.3.2 Processing based on the time-domain signal 5.3.3 Processing based on the frequency-domain signal 5.3.4 Unified signal model 5.4 summary 6 Generalized waveforms based on time-frequency shifts 6.1 General time-frequency shift 6.1.1 Time-frequency shift design 6.1.2 Relation between the shifted pulses 6.2 Time-frequency shift in Gabor frame 6.2.1 Conventional GFDM 6.3 GFDM modulation 6.3.1 Filter bank representation 6.3.2 Block representation 6.3.3 GFDM matrix structure 6.3.4 GFDM demodulator 6.3.5 Alternative interpretation of GFDM 6.3.6 Orthogonal modulation and GFDM spreading 6.4 Summary 7 Modulation Framework: Architectures and Applications 7.1 Modem architectures 7.1.1 General modulation matrix structure 7.1.2 Run-time flexibility 7.1.3 Generic GFDM-based architecture 7.1.4 Flexible parallel multiplications architecture 7.1.5 MIMO waveform architecture 7.2 Extended GFDM framework 7.2.1 Architectures complexity and flexibility analysis 7.2.2 Number of multiplications 7.2.3 Hardware analysis 7.3 Applications of the extended GFDM framework 7.3.1 Generalized FDMA 7.3.2 Enchantment of OFDM system 7.4 Summary 7 Conclusions and Future work

Enhanced Air-Interfaces for Fifth Generation Mobile Broadband Communication

In broadband wireless multicarrier communication systems, intersymbol interference (ISI) and intercarrier interference (ICI) should be reduced. In orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), the cyclic prefix (CP) guarantees to reduce the ISI interference. However, the CP reduces spectral and power efficiency. In this thesis, iterative interference cancellation (IIC) with iterative decoding is used to reduce ISI and ICI from the received signal in multicarrier modulation (MCM) systems. Alternative schemes as well as OFDM with insufficient CP are considered; filter bank multicarrier (FBMC/Offset QAM) and discrete wavelet transform based multicarrier modulation (DWT-MCM). IIC is applied in these different schemes. The required components are calculated from either the hard decision of the demapper output or the estimated decoded signal. These components are used to improve the received signal. Channel estimation and data detection are very important parts of the receiver design of the wireless communication systems. Iterative channel estimation using Wiener filter channel estimation with known pilots and IIC is used to estimate and improve data detection. Scattered and interference approximation method (IAM) preamble pilot are using to calculate the estimated values of the channel coefficients. The estimated soft decoded symbols with pilot are used to reduce the ICI and ISI and improve the channel estimation. The combination of Multi-Input Multi-Output MIMO and OFDM enhances the air-interface for the wireless communication system. In a MIMO-MCM scheme, IIC and MIMO-IIC-based successive interference cancellation (SIC) are proposed to reduce the ICI/ISI and cross interference to a given antenna from the signal transmitted from the target and the other antenna respectively. The number of iterations required can be calculated by analysing the convergence of the IIC with the help of EXtrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) charts. A new EXIT approach is proposed to provide a means to define performance for a given outage probability on quasi-static channels

Algoritmos en transmisión y recepción para OFDM en entornos multi-usuario

Desde su incursión en la vida de los ciudadanos de forma cotidiana, las comunicaciones móviles han ido adquiriendo cada vez más protagonismo. Lo que hace unos años era un elemento de lujo o causa de envidias, hoy es algo tan habitual como coger el autobús. Este auge en las comunicaciones móviles ha llevado consigo un aumento del número de usuarios de estos servicios, así como una mayor exigencia por parte de éstos en cuanto a velocidad de transmisión, seguridad, servicios, calidad ... Por este motivo, se han ido introduciendo nuevas redes, así como mejoras en las ya existentes. Actualmente estamos asistiendo al inicio de la implantación de las redes denominadas de tercera generación (3G). No obstante, estas redes 3G fueron de nidas a mediados de los años 90. En la actualidad nos encontramos en la de nición de lo que será la cuarta generación móvil (4G) a la que probablemente preceda una intermedia, tal vez Super 3G. Muchas son las tecnologías candidatas para esta Super 3G o para la 4G, pero es OFDM (Multiplexación por División en Frecuencias Ortogonales - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) una de las más prometedoras para terminar siendo la tecnología elegida, debido principalmente a la robustez que ofrece frente al multi-trayecto, la flexibilidad que proporciona por el hecho de dividir el ancho de banda en sub-portadoras que pueden ser moduladas independientemente para adaptarse a las condiciones específicas de los canales móviles y al aprovechamiento de la diversidad multi-usuario cuando se combina en OFDMA (Acceso múltiple por división en frecuencias ortogonales - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). Sin embargo, para que estos sistemas OFDMA sean una realidad en redes futuras como la Super 3G o la 4G, es preciso reducir la complejidad que ellos conllevan, en aspectos como la sincronización multi-usuario o la implementación de la modulación adaptativa. Esta Tesis está enfocada a reducir la complejidad de implementación para que la tecnología OFDMA pueda ser un hecho en las futuras redes inalámbricas. La sincronización en sistemas OFDMA, principalmente en escenarios ad-hoc plantea un reto importante a la hora de implementarla en este tipo de redes. Dado que existe una literatura extensa dedicada a resolver el problema de la sincronización en entornos OFDM mono-usuario, en esta Tesis se propone un procedimiento para reducir el problema de la sincronización multiusuario al caso mono-usuario, lo que permite la re-utilización de todas las técnicas propuestas en la literatura. Además de las buenas prestaciones incluso en situaciones de saturación de la red, permite un ahorro de la energía necesaria para la realización de las tareas de sincronización. Asimismo, a la vez que se resuelve la sincronización multi-usuario, también en esta Tesis se aporta un algoritmo para realizar el seguimiento de la desviación de frecuencia en sistemas tanto OFDM como OFDMA, de una forma sencilla y eficiente. Este algoritmo utiliza las sub-portadoras piloto de los símbolos, y ofrece unas prestaciones razonables, incluso cuando el número de estas sub-portadoras piloto es reducido. La modulación adaptativa u otras técnicas avanzadas de comunicaciones como MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) o el conformado de haz (beamforming), que se hacen más atractivas cuando se combinan con OFDM u OFDMA, requieren de cierta realimentación hacia el transmisor por parte del receptor, además de un conocimiento del canal bastante preciso. En esta Tesis se aportan algoritmos para la compresión de esta información (que puede ser muy elevada dependiendo de la granularidad de la adaptación y la variabilidad del canal), lo que permite un mejor aprovechamiento de los recursos radio, y simpli ca la implementación de este tipo de sistemas. Se consiguen reducciones superiores a cuatro veces la tasa original, lo que implica grandes ventajas en todos los sentidos. Además, se realiza un estudio teórico sobre cómo afectan los errores en la estimación de canal en la capacidad del sistema, obteniéndose dos cotas numéricas para ésta. Gracias a estas cotas se puede concluir que las técnicas actuales de estimación de canal son su cientemente buenas como para que las pérdidas producidas por los errores en esta estimación no sean muy significativas; No obstante, estas pérdidas aumentan a medida que se incrementa la relación señal a ruido, y, por tanto, es conveniente seguir mejorando la estimación de canal si se pretende que estos sistemas trabajen a altas relaciones señal a ruido. Por último, destacar que las simulaciones llevadas a cabo para examinar las prestaciones de los algoritmos desarrollados han proporcionado datos prácticos que ayudarán al diseño e implementación de futuras redes móviles 4G.Nowadays mobile communications are common in our society. In less than two decades they have changed the way people understand personal communications. This interest is still growing and makes users (every day larger in number) ask for more and more services, speed, security and quality, at least comparable to the wired technologies. For this reason, new networks have been introduced in the scene, as well as improvements in the already existing ones. At the moment we are witnessing the beginning of the deployment of the so-called third generation networks (3G). However, these 3G networks were defined in the middle of years 90. At the present time we are in the definition of what will be the fourth mobile generation, which is called the 4G and probably an intermediate stage as Super 3G could be defined first. Many different technologies are in consideration, but OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Multiplexing Division) is one of most promising candidates to end up becoming the technology to be used, due mainly to the robustness that it others to the multi-path channel, the flexibility that it provides by the fact that it divides the bandwidth into sub-carriers which can be modulated independently to adapt the signal to the specific channel conditions and to the advantage of the multi-user diversity when it is used to multiplex several users in the form of OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). Nevertheless, in order for these OFDMA systems to be a reality in future networks as Super 3G or 4G, the reduction in complexity has to be considered, in aspects such as the multi-user synchronization or the implementation of the Adaptive Modulation. This doctoral Thesis is focused on reducing the implementation complexity in both multi-user synchronization and Adaptive Modulation so that OFDMA technology can be a fact in the near future radio networks. The synchronization in OFDMA systems, specially in ad-hoc scenarios, raises an important challenge at the time of implementing this technology. Since an extensive literature is devoted to solve the problem of the synchronization in single-user OFDM systems, in this Thesis we have designed and proposed a procedure to reduce the multi-user synchronization problem to the single-user case, and therefore it allows the reuse of all the already proposed techniques in the literature. The procedure exhibits a good performance even in network saturation situations, and in addition it does not incur in a high power consumption when performing the synchronization tasks. Besides, solving the multi-user synchronization problem, the Thesis also proposes an algorithm for frequency offset tracking in an efficient and simple way, for both OFDM and OFDMA systems. This algorithm uses the pilot sub-carriers scattered in each OFDM symbol, and o ers reasonable performance, even when the number of these pilot sub-carriers is small. Adaptive Modulation and other advanced techniques as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) or beamforming become more attractive when they are combined with OFDM or OFDMA. However they require certain feedback information from receiver to the transmitter, and in addition, a quite precise knowledge about channel conditions. In this Thesis several algorithms for compressing the feedback information have been developed. This feedback information can be very highly demanding (depending on the granularity of the adaptation and the variability of the channel), and therefore this compression allows a better use of the resources, and simplifies the implementation of this kind of systems. Reductions of more than four times the original flow are obtained, which implies great advantages. In addition, a theoretical study is made on how errors in channel estimation affect the channel capacity, and several upper-bounds (one of them very tight) for this effect are obtained. One of the conclusions is that the actual state of the art in channel estimation techniques is good enough to be used without too much loss; However, the loss increases as the signal to noise ratio increases, and therefore, it is suggested to continue improving channel estimation algorithms for improving performance in high signal to noise ratio scenarios. Finally, thanks to simulations and designs carried out in order to examine the performance of the developed algorithms, some practical data are provided that will help in the future design of new mobile networks as 4G