The code observable of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) is influenced by group delay variations (GDV) of transmitter and receiver antennas. For the Global Positioning System (GPS), the variations can sum up to 1 m in the ionosphere-free linear combination and thus can significantly affect precise code applications. The contribution of the GPS transmitters can amount to 0.8 m peak-to-peak over the entire nadir angle range. To verify the assumption of their time-invariance, we determined daily individual satellite GDV for GPS transmitter antennas over a period of more than two years. Dual-frequency observations of globally distributed reference stations and their multipath combination form the basis for our analysis. The resulting GPS GDV are stable on the level of a few centimeters for C1, P2, and for the ionosphere-free linear combination. Our study reveals that the inconsistencies of the GDV of space vehicle number (SVN) 55 with respect to earlier studies are not caused by temporal instabilities, but are rather related to receiver properties.

The code observable of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) is influenced by group delay variations (GDV) of transmitter and receiver antennas. For the Global Positioning System (GPS), the variations can sum up to 1 m in the ionosphere-free linear combination and thus can significantly affect precise code applications. The contribution of the GPS transmitters can amount to 0.8 m peak-to-peak over the entire nadir angle range. To verify the assumption of their time-invariance, we determined daily individual satellite GDV for GPS transmitter antennas over a period of more than two years. Dual-frequency observations of globally distributed reference stations and their multipath combination form the basis for our analysis. The resulting GPS GDV are stable on the level of a few centimeters for C1, P2, and for the ionosphere-free linear combination. Our study reveals that the inconsistencies of the GDV of space vehicle number (SVN) 55 with respect to earlier studies are not caused by temporal instabilities, but are rather related to receiver properties.

Les travaux de cette thèse portent sur l'égalisation des canaux de transmission pour des modulations mono-porteuses et multi-porteuses. Dans le cadre de l'égalisation, nous nous intéressons, plus précisément, à l'égalisation aveugle. Tout d'abord, nous décrivons les différents éléments constituants une chaîne de communication, et les différents types de modulations mono-porteuses et muti-porteuses (OFDM). Ensuite, nous faisons un état de l'art sur les méthodes de l'égalisation aveugle pour une modulation mono-porteuse. Nous proposons par la suite un algorithme d'égalisation aveugle en présence de perturbations bornées. Ensuite, nous fournissons une analyse de stabilité et de convergence de l'algorithme proposé. Dans le cadre de la modulation multi-porteuse, nous présentons, dans un premier temps, un état de l'art sur les techniques d'égalisation aveugle pour le système OFDM. Ensuite, nous adaptons l'algorithme proposé pour le système OFDM pour des canaux à trajets multiples, en particulier les canaux Raleigh et Rice. Les performances de l'algorithme proposé sont illustrées à travers plusieurs exemples en simulation tout au long de la thèse. / The work of this thesis deals with the equalization of the transmission channels for a single-carrier and multi-carrier modulation. In the context of equalization, we focus precisely on the blind equalization. First, we give a description of various elements constituting a communication chain, a description of different types of single-carrier modulations and a description of a multi-carrier modulation (OFDM). Then, we give an overview of the blind equalization methods for a single-carrier modulation. We propose subsequently a blind equalization algorithm in the presence of a bounded perturbation. Next, we provide stability and convergence analysis of the proposed method. In the context of multi-carrier modulation, we first present an overview of the blind equalization techniques for the OFDM system. Next, we adapt the proposed method for the OFDM system under multipath channels, especially the Raleigh and the Rice channels. Performance of the proposed algorithm have been illustrated in simulation by considering many examples throughout this thesis.

Four main aspects are studied and explored throughout this dissertation: (1) On-Package Multipolar antenna system design for integration with commercial wireless sensor nodes for machine-to-machine communication applications; (2) Development of a novel MMIC packaging process and subsequent antenna integration for chip-to-chip communication applications, (3) Design and characterization of additively manufactured lumped passive elements for integration with MMIC and hybrid circuits, (4) Design and characterization of antennas for on- and off-metal radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. This work presents the design of different 3-D printed tripolar antenna systems operating at 2.4 GHz. The antennas are designed for integration with commercial wireless nodes with the purpose of mitigating multipath and depolarization channel effects that might be present in many machine-to-machine (M2M) deployments. The antennas are fabricated utilizing an additive manufacturing (AM) approach that combines fused deposition modeling (FDM) of ABS plastic for dielectric parts and micro-dispensing of silver paste Du-Pont CB028 for conductive layers as the majority of the devices presented in this work. Over the air testing demonstrates a 1% channel improvement of up to 14 dB, achieved in a highly-reflective, Rayleigh-like fading environment by implementing selection diversity between three mutually orthogonal monopoles. This improvement leads to better bit error rate (BER) performance (as is also shown). Additionally, RSSI measurements show significant improvement when the prototype antenna system is integrated with commercial wireless sensor hardware. Implications of tripolar antenna integration on M2M systems include reduction in energy use, longer communication link distances, and/or greater link reliability. In order to incorporate the proposed multipolar selection diversity technique into short range wireless chip-to-chip communications, a novel and versatile 3D printed on-chip integration approach using laser machining is subsequently demonstrated for microwave and mm-wave systems in a process herein referred to as Laser Enhanced or Laser Assisted Direct Print Additive Manufacturing (LE-DPAM). The integration process extends interconnects laterally from a MMIC to a chip carrier. Picosecond laser machining is applied and characterized to enhance the 3D printing quality. Specifically, the width of micro-dispensed printed traces is accurately controlled within micrometer range (e.g. laser cuts ~12 μm wide), additionally, 150 μm probe pads are cut in order to facilitate RF measurement. The S-parameters of a distributed amplifier integrated into the package are simulated and measured from 2 to 30 GHz. It is seen how the overall performance is significantly better than a traditional wirebonded QFN package and previously reported AM MMIC interconnections. The attenuation of the microstrip line including interconnects is only 0.2 dB/mm at 20 GHz and return loss with the package is less than 10 dB throughout the operating frequency band A 17 GHz package integrated linearly polarized patch antenna, fabricated with a multi-layer and multi-material LE-DPAM process is then introduced for vertical interconnection with a MMIC die. Performance is successfully measured and characterized achieving a return loss greater than 19 dB at the desired design frequency. Good agreement between simulated and measured radiation patterns is also obtained with a peak gain of 4.2 dBi. Another section of this work utilizes LE-DPAM to fabricate lumped capacitors and inductors for coplanar waveguide (CPW) circuits, especially useful for filtering and matching network implementation. Laser machining is used to achieve ~12 µm slots on printed conductors, producing aspect ratios greater than 2:1, as well as to fabricate vertical interconnects or vias that allow for the fabrication of the multilayer inductors. Inductances in the range of 0.4-3 nH are achieved, with a maximum quality factor of 21, self-resonance frequencies up to 88 GHz, and an inductance per unit of area of 5.3 nH/mm2. Interdigital capacitors in the range of 0.05-0.5 pF are fabricated, having a maximum quality factor of 750 and self-resonances up to 120 GHz. All the components are made on the center line of a CPW that is 836 µm wide. The results show that LE-DPAM enables the fabrication of compact passive circuits that can be easily interconnected with MMIC dies, which at the same time, can be manufactured as part of a larger component. This enables the fabrication of structural electronics that are functional into the mm-wave frequency range. A final aspect of this work goes through antenna designs for specific RFID (radio frequency identification) applications. RFID tag design is generally focused specifically on either off-metal or on-metal configurations. In this work passive 2D and 3D RFID tags are presented which perform similarly in both configurations. The presented tags operate in the ISM RFID UHF bands that cover 864-868 MHz and 902-928 MHz. A matching loop consisting of two parallel stubs to ground is used for impedance matching to a passive integrated circuit, which has -18 dBm sensitivity. A planar 2D tag with a footprint of 13126.5 mm2 is first introduced, showing a simulated gain of approximately 3 dBi and a measured read range of 10 m (for 31 dBm transmit power from the reader) in both on-metal and off-metal conditions. The tag is miniaturized into a 3D geometry with a footprint of 2524.25 mm2 (520% reduction) and achieves the same broadside simulated on-metal gain. The antennas are fabricated using a DPAM process, and a meshed ground configuration is explored in order to accomplish a 50% conductive paste reduction without disrupting the performance. The proposed tags are compared with commercially available tags as well as previously published tags in terms of read range and size. The tags in this work present an improvement in terms of read range, gain, and area with respect to previous designs covering the ISM RFID UHF bands. Moreover, the performance of these tags is maintained in on- and off-metal conditions, achieving comparable performance and a reduction in volume of 11482% with respect to the best tag reported.

The study of the spatial aspects of multipath in wireless communications environments is an increasingly important addition to the study of the temporal aspects in the search for ways to increase the utilization of the available wireless channel capacity. Traditionally, multipath has been viewed as an encumbrance in wireless communications, two of the major impairments being signal fading and intersymbol interference. However, recently the potential advantages of the diversity offered by multipath rich environments in multiuser communications have been recognised. Space time coding, for example, is a recent technique which relies on a rich scattering environment to create many practically uncorrelated signal transmission channels. Most often, statistical models have been used to describe the multipath environments in such applications. This approach has met with reasonable success but is limited when the statistical nature of a field is not easily determined or is not readily described by a known distribution.¶ Our primary aim in this thesis is to probe further into the nature of multipath environments in order to gain a greater understanding of their characteristics and diversity potential. We highlight the shortcomings of beamforming in a multipath multiuser access environment. We show that the ability of a beamformer to resolve two or more signals in angle directly limits its achievable capacity.¶ We test the probity of multipath as a source of spatial diversity, the limiting case of which is co-located users. We introduce the concept of separability to define the fundamental limits of a receiver to extract the signal of a desired user from interfering users’ signals and noise. We consider the separability performances of the minimum mean square error (MMSE), decorrelating (DEC) and matched filter (MF) detectors as we bring the positions of a desired and an interfering user closer together. We show that both the MMSE and DEC detectors are able to achieve acceptable levels of separability with the users as close as λ/10.¶ In seeking a better understanding of the nature of multipath fields themselves, we take two approaches. In the first we take a path oriented approach. The effects on the variation of the field power of the relative values of parameters such as amplitude and propagation direction are considered for a two path field. The results are applied to a theoretical analysis of the behaviour of linear detectors in multipath fields. This approach is insightful for fields with small numbers of multipaths, but quickly becomes mathematically complex.¶ In a more general approach, we take a field oriented view, seeking to quantify the complexity of arbitrary fields. We find that a multipath field has an intrinsic dimensionality of (πe)R/λ≈8.54R/λ, for a field in a two dimensional circular region, increasing only linearly with the radius R of the region. This result implies that there is no such thing as an arbitrarily complicated multipath field. That is, a field generated by any number of nearfield and farfield, specular and diffuse multipath reflections is no more complicated than a field generated by a limited number of plane waves. As such, there are limits on how rich multipath can be. This result has significant implications including means: i) to determine a parsimonious parameterization for arbitrary multipath fields and ii) of synthesizing arbitrary multipath fields with arbitrarily located nearfield or farfield, spatially discrete or continuous sources. The theoretical results are corroborated by examples of multipath field analysis and synthesis.

In the first part of the thesis, we address the optimization of multimedia applications such as videoconferences or multi-player games in which user-dependent information has to be sent from the users to a core node to be chosen, and then global information has to be multicast back from the core node to all users. For a given communication network, this optimization seeks a core node under two potentially competing criteria, one being the sum of the distances to a set of user terminals, the other being the cost of connecting this core node and the terminals with a multicast (or Steiner) tree. We first consider the problem of minimizing a weighted sum of the two criteria and propose a heuristic which rapidly computes a solution guaranteed to be within a few percent of the optimum. Then we characterize the worst-case trade-offs between approximation ratios for the two criteria. To state our result informally, we show that there always exists a core location for which each criterion is close to its minimum value (if we were to disregard the other criterion). In the second part, we focus on the protection of multimedia streaming applications against packet losses. Because of real-time constraints, error recovery is often achieved by Forward Error Correction (FEC) techniques which consist of partitioning the packet stream into blocks of consecutive packets and adding redundant data packets to each block. If the number of packets lost within a block is at most the number of redundant packets added, the receiver is able to recover the original data packets. Otherwise some data is irrecoverably lost. In communication networks, FEC techniques are typically impaired by the fact that packet losses are not evenly distributed among blocks but rather occur in long bursts of consecutive losses. However it has been observed that splitting the transmission of a FEC block onto several paths typically decreases the probability of an irrecoverable loss. Whereas current approaches rely on an exact computation of the probability and are consequently restricted to very small network instances, we propose to approximate this probability by measuring the impact of the chosen routing on the peakedness of the received packet stream. The peakedness of a stream may be seen as a measure of how packets are spread over time within the stream. Numerical experiments are presented and show that our method yields good approximations of the probability of irrecoverable loss./La première partie de cette thèse concerne l'optimisation d'applications multimédias, telles que des vidéoconférences ou des jeux en groupes, pour lesquels l'information propre à chaque utilisateur doit être envoyée vers un noeud central à sélectionner. L'information globale est ensuite diffusée en retour de ce noeud central vers chacun des utilisateurs. Pour un réseau de communication donné, cette optimisation consiste à choisir le noeud central selon deux critères potentiellement concurrents, le premier étant la somme des distances vers les utilisateurs, le second étant le coût de connecter ce noeud central et les utilisateurs avec un arbre multicast (ou arbre de Steiner). Nous considérons tout d'abord le problème de la minimisation d'une somme pondérée des deux critères et proposons une heuristique qui calcule rapidement une solution garantie d'être éloignée de l'optimum d'au plus quelques pour cent. Ensuite nous caractérisons les pires cas du compromis existant entre les rapports d'approximation pour les deux critères. De façon informelle, notre résultat peut se formuler comme suit : nous montrons qu'il est toujours possible de sélectionner le noeud central de telle sorte que chaque critère soit proche de sa valeur minimum (obtenue sans considérer l'autre critère). Dans la seconde partie, nous nous concentrons sur la protection des applications de diffusion multimédia (streaming) contre les pertes de paquets. A cause de contraintes temps réel, la récupération des erreurs pour ces applications est typiquement réalisée par des techniques de corrections d'erreurs dites "en avant" (Forward Error Correction ou FEC) qui consistent à partitionner le flux de paquets en blocs de paquets consécutifs et à ajouter des paquets de données redondantes à chacun de ces blocs. Si le nombre de paquets perdus au sein d'un bloc est inférieur ou égal au nombre de paquets ajoutés, le récepteur est capable de récupérer les paquets de données originaux. Dans le cas contraire, des données sont perdues de façon irrécupérable. Dans les réseaux de communication, l'efficacité des techniques FEC est typiquement dégradée par le fait que les pertes de paquets ne sont pas distribuées uniformément parmi les blocs de paquets mais apparaissent plutôt groupées par en rafales de pertes consécutives. Cependant il a été récemment observé que répartir la transmission d'un bloc FEC sur plusieurs chemins permet généralement de diminuer la probabilité de perte irrécupérable. Alors que les approches existantes se basent sur un calcul exact de cette probabilité et se limitent donc à des réseaux de très petite taille, nous proposons d'en calculer une approximation en mesurant l'impact du routage choisi sur la "peakedness" du flux de paquets. La peakedness d'un flux peut être vue comme un mesure de la répartition temporelle des paquets au sein de ce flux. Des résultats numériques sont présentés et montrent que notre méthode permet de calculer une bonne approximation de la probabilité de perte irrécupérable..

This thesis examines various signal processing techniques that are required for establishing efficient (near optimal) communications in multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) environments. The central part of this thesis is dedicated to acquisition of information about the MIMO channel state - at both the receiver and the transmitter. This information is required to organize a communication set up which utilizes all the available channel resources. Realistic channel model, i.e., the spatial channel model (SCM), has been used in this study, together with modern long-term evolution (LTE) standard. The work consists of three major themes: (a) estimation of the channel at the receiver, also known as tracking; (b) quantization of the channel information and its feedback from receiver to the transmitter (feedback quantization); and (c) reconstruction of the channel knowledge at the transmitter, and its use for data precoding during communication transmission. / Communications

This thesis treats of channel models for polarized multi-antenna wireless systems. Polarized multi-antenna systems are systems that use perpendicularly polarized, co-located antennas at the base station and at the mobile terminal, in order to benefit from the so-called polarization diversity. Such systems benefit from the advantages of MIMO systems while still maintaining a compact equipment size. Two models will be presented in this thesis. The first one is the Polarized-Input Polarized-Output (PIPO) channel model, the second one is the Polarized-Diffuse-Directional channel model. The PIPO model is a statistical channel model for tri-polarized to tri-polarized communication systems. A tri-polarized antenna system is a tranceiver using three perpendicular antennas. The aim of the PIPO channel model is to have a model that has a simple mathematical structure, so it can be used for solving precoding equations or capacity calculations. Although the PIPO model has a very simple structure, it takes the following parameters into account: coherent channel component, cross-polar channel power imbalance, inter-channel correlation, short- and long-scale time variance. Experimental measurements are used to parameterize the model. It is shown how the model parameters are extracted from experimental measurements, and the results are analyzed to allow further simplification of the model. The PDD model, on the other hand, is a geometry-based stochastic channel model. It models the channel as a sum of clusters, where each cluster consists of groups of multipath components (MPCs). The PDD model includes two novelties that will be developed in detail in this thesis. - The model considers polarization on a per-cluster basis. This permits to have a more accurate description of the polar-angular spectrum. - The diffuse multipath component (DMC) is included by considering a diffuse component for each cluster. The diffuse cluster component is then modeled as the sum of a set of diffuse MPCs. The model is specified in detail, and it is shown how the model can be generated. Experimental measurements were carried out to parameterize the model. A new extraction technique for extracting the specular-diffuse clusters from the measurements is proposed. This technique is based on joint clustering of the specular MPCs and the bins of the diffuse component. The experimental results are analyzed, and superimposed with environment information to gain further insight into the physical aspects of clustered propagation. Finally, both models are validated. Several validation metrics are introduced, and their pertinence in the context of polarized MIMO systems is highlighted. Both models are successfully validated, and the advantages and limitations of each models are investigated. Cette thèse traite des modèles de canal pour systèmes sans-fils multi-antennes polarisés. Des systèmes multi-antennes polarisés sont des systèmes qui utilisent des antennes polarisées perpendiculairement co-localisées à la station de base et au terminal mobile, dans le but de bénéficier de la diversité de polarisation. De tels systèmes peuvent bénéficier des avantages des systèmes MIMO tout en diminuant l'encombrement des équipements. Deux modèles seront présentés dans cette thèse. Le premier est le modèle Polarized-Input Polarized-Output (PIPO), le second est le modèle Polarized-Diffuse-Directional (PDD). Le modèle PIPO est un modèle statistique pour des systèmes de communication tri-polaire à tri-polaire. Un système tri-polaire est un émetteur ou un récepteur qui utilise trois antennes perpendiculaires. Le but du modèle de canal PIPO est d'avoir un modèle qui a une structure mathématique simple, afin qu'il puisse être utilisé pour résoudre des équations de précodage ou des calculs de capacité. Malgré la structure simple du modèle PIPO, il tient compte des paramètres suivants: la composante cohérente du canal, les différences de puissance entre canaux cross-polaires, la corrélation entre canaux, les variations à courte et à longue échelle de temps. Des mesures expérimentales ont été réalisées afin de paramétriser le modèle. Les techniques pour extraire les paramètres du modèle des mesures expérimentales sont présentées, et les résultats sont analysés afin de permettre une simplification supplémentaire du modèle. Le modèle PDD, quant à lui, est un modèle de canal stochasique-géométrique. Il modélise le canal comme une somme de clusters, où chaque clusters est composé d'un groupe de chemins multi-trajets. Le modèle PDD inclut les deux nouveautés suivantes qui seront développées en détail dans cette thèse. - Le modèle considère une polarisation par cluster. Ceci permet d'avoir une description plus exacte du spectre angulaire-polaire. - La composante diffuse est prise en compte en incluant une composante diffuse pour chaque cluster. La composante diffuse d'un cluster est alors modelisée comme une somme de multi-trajets diffus. Le modèle est spécifié en détail, et il est présenté comment le modèle peut être généré. Des mesures expérimentales ont été faites afin de paramétriser le modèle. Une nouvelle technique d'extraction est proposée pour extraire les clusters spéculaires-diffus. Cette technique est basée sur le clustering conjoint des multi-trajets spéculaires et des "bins" de la composante diffuse. Les résultats expérimentaux sont analysés, et superposés avec l'information de l'environnement de mesure afin d'avoir une connaissance accrue des aspects physiques de la propagation par clusters. Finalement, les deux modèles sont validés. Plusieurs métriques de validations sont introduites, et leur pertinence dans le cadre des systèmes MIMO polarisés est mis en avant. Les deux modèles sont validés avec succès, et les avantages et limitations de chaque modèle sont investigués.

Spectrum has been a scarce commodity in RF communication. Acoustic data communication is an alternative to RF communication where data is transmitted through sound waves. In this thesis, several different aspects of acoustic data communication are investigated. A physical test setup is built where the data communication spectrum extends up to 40 kHz. Impulse response of the acoustic channel is considered in a laboratory environment. Acoustic spectrum beyond the hearing limit between 25 kHz to 35 kHz is found as a suitable band for the developed setup. Distance and multipath components are important factors, determining the communication accuracy. The physical layer for the communication system is built by taking RF Pager system as a reference. This system is also modified to improve the performance. Dierent modulation techniques are used in order to evaluate their performances for acoustic channels. BFSK, BPSK, QPSK, GMSK, OFDM, DSSS and FHSS techniques are implemented for comparison. Total and effective bit rate are considered for the overall performance evaluation of differentt modulation techniques. Several experiments are done in laboratory environment where there are several multipath components. As the distance between the transmitter and receiver is increased, path loss and multipath increases. It is shown that certain modulation techniques are more robust to multipath and are better candidates for acoustic communication. While acoustic environment is inefficient in terms of power, it is still a good candidate for communication in short distances.

A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a collection of wireless mobile nodes forming a temporary network without the support of any established infrastructure or centralized administration. There are many potential applications based the techniques of MANETs, such as disaster rescue, personal area networking, wireless conference, military applications, etc. MANETs face a number of challenges for designing a scalable routing protocol due to their natural characteristics. Guaranteeing delivery and the capability to handle dynamic connectivity are the most important issues for routing protocols in MANETs. In this dissertation, we will propose four algorithms that address different aspects of routing problems in MANETs. Firstly, in position based routing protocols to design a scalable location management scheme is inherently difficult. Enhanced Scalable Location management Service (EnSLS) is proposed to improve the scalability of existing location management services, and a mathematical model is proposed to compare the performance of the classical location service, GLS, and our protocol, EnSLS. The analytical model shows that EnSLS has better scalability compared with that of GLS. Secondly, virtual backbone routing can reduce communication overhead and speedup the routing process compared with many existing on-demand routing protocols for routing detection. In many studies, Minimum Connected Dominating Set (MCDS) is used to approximate virtual backbones in a unit-disk graph. However finding a MCDS is an NP-hard problem. In the dissertation, we develop two new pure localized protocols for calculating the CDS. One emphasizes forming a small size initial near-optimal CDS via marking process, and the other uses an iterative synchronized method to avoid illegal simultaneously removal of dominating nodes. Our new protocols largely reduce the number of nodes in CDS compared with existing methods. We show the efficiency of our approach through both theoretical analysis and simulation experiments. Finally, using multiple redundant paths for routing is a promising solution. However, selecting an optimal path set is an NP hard problem. We propose the Genetic Fuzzy Multi-path Routing Protocol (GFMRP), which is a multi-path routing protocol based on fuzzy set theory and evolutionary computing.