Abstract Multicarrier and multiple input–multiple output (MIMO) techniques have become popular in wireless communications over multipath fading channels in recent years. This thesis firstly considers the characterization and simulation of fading mobile radio channels for MIMO multicarrier systems. Secondly, the performance of spread-spectrum multicarrier (MC) code-division multiple-access (CDMA) with multirate transmission is analyzed. Thirdly, the analysis is applied to ultra-wideband (UWB) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems enhanced with frequency-domain code-division multiplexing (CDM). The response of a small-scale fading channel is derived as a function of time, transmit and receive antenna positions, and subcarrier frequency, which leads to a tapped delay-line model with time-, space-, and frequency-selective taps. The taps are modeled as a sum of a deterministic line-of-sight or dominant scattered path and a zero-mean Gaussian part composed of a number of unresolvable scattered paths and, therefore, are Rice fading. The Gaussian parts have the desired temporal and spatiospectral correlations generated by time-correlation shaping filtering and a space-frequency correlation transformation, respectively. The simulator achieves a good accuracy while retaining a reasonable computational complexity. The generic performance analysis of MC-CDMA includes both the multicode and variable spreading factor (VSF) multirate schemes that are inherent for CDMA and capable of providing efficient support for services of different required data rates. The analysis also takes into account the intersymbol interference caused by the multipath delay components exceeding a guard interval, which is commonly omitted in the literature by assuming the guard interval to be longer than the maximum delay spread. Results comparing and pointing out notable differences in the error rate performance of the two multirate schemes in conjunction with six different combining techniques are presented for a synchronous downlink and both a synchronous and asynchronous uplink. The analysis of CDM-enhanced OFDM-UWB involves first a single piconet with different combinations of the VSF and multicode schemes. Frequency-domain spreading is found to improve the performance remarkably when a sufficient spreading factor and a suitable subcarrier combining method are used. Subsequently, CDMA of simultaneously operating piconets (SOPs) with either the VSF or multicode scheme is considered. While both multirate schemes result in a similar performance when the number of SOPs is large, notable differences arise when there are only a few SOPs.

ITC/USA 2010 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Sixth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 25-28, 2010 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / RF Communication (COMMS) systems where receivers and transmitters are in motion must be proven rigorously over an array of natural RF link perturbations such as Carrier Doppler shift, Signal Doppler shift, delay, path loss and noise. These perturbations play significant roles in COMMS systems involving satellites, aircraft, UAVs, missiles, targets and ground stations. In these applications, COMMS system devices must also be tested against increasingly sophisticated intentional and unintentional interference, which must result in negligible impact on quality of service. Field testing and use of traditional test and measurement equipment will need to be substantially augmented with physics-compliant channel emulation equipment that broadens the scope, depth and coverage of such tests, while decreasing R&D and test costs and driving in quality. This paper describes dynamic link emulation driven by advanced antenna and motion modeling, detailed propagation models and link budget methods for realistic, nominal and worst-case hardware-in-the-loop test and verification.