Proliferation of new wireless technologies has rekindled the interest on the design, analysis and implementation of suboptimal receiver structures that provide good error probability performance with reduced power consumption and complexity particularly when the order of diversity is large. This thesis presents a unified analytical framework to perform a trade-off study for a class of hybrid generalized selection combining technique for ultra-wideband, spread-spectrum and millimeter-wave communication receiver designs. The thesis also develops an exact mathematical framework to analyze the performance of a dual-diversity equal gain combining (EGC) receiver in correlated Nakagami-m channels, which had defied a simple solution in the past. The framework facilitates efficient evaluation of the mean and variance of coherent EGC output signal-to-noise ratio, outage probability and average symbol error probability for a broad range of digital modulation schemes. A comprehensive study of various dual-diversity techniques with non-independent and non-identical fading statistics is also presented. Finally, the thesis develops some closed-form solutions for a few integrals involving the generalized Marcum Q-function. Integrals of these types often arise in the analysis of multichannel diversity reception of differentially coherent and noncoherent digital communications over Nakagami-m channels. Several other applications are also discussed. / Master of Science

Wireless has proved to be one of the most important and fastest growing fields of communications especially during last few decades. To achieve reliable communication, we model a wireless system to analyze its performance and to find ways to improve the reliability of a particular system. Extensive research is being done to accurately model wireless systems, and to achieve better performance. Simulation techniques have been in use for many years to support the design and evaluation of electronic communication systems. Over the past few decades, Computer Aided Design (CAD) techniques (including both computerized analytical techniques and simulation) have matured, and are now usually applied at some point in the system design/development process. The aim of this thesis is to find efficient algorithms that can model third generation wireless channels in a discrete sense. For modeling these channels, mathematical tools known as hidden Markov models are used. These models have proved themselves to be very efficient in many areas of electrical engineering including speech recognition, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, wavelets and queuing theory. Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) wireless communication parameters including channels fading statistics, Bit Error Rate (BER) performance and interval distribution of errors are modeled using different Markov models, and their results are tested and validated. Four algorithms for modeling error sources are implemented, and their results are discussed. Both hidden Markov models and semi-hidden Markov models are used in this thesis, and their results are validated for the W-CDMA environment. The state duration distributions for these channels are also approximated using Phase-Type (PH) distribution. / Master of Science

Au cours des 15 dernières années, des progrès spectaculaires dans l'analyse et la conception des codes définis par des graphes bipartites et dé-codables par des algorithmes itératifs ont permis le développement de systèmes de correction d'erreurs, avec des performances de plus en plus proches la limite théorique de Shannon. Dans ce contexte, un rôle déterminant a été joué par la famille des codes à matrice de parité creuse, appelés codes LDPC (pour « Low-Density Parity-Check », en anglais), introduit par Gallager au début des années 60 et décrits plus tard en termes de graphes bipartites. Négligés pendant de longues années, ces codes ont été redécouverts à la fin des années 90, après que la puissance du décodage itératif a été mise en évidence grâce à l'invention des Turbo-codes. Ce n'est qu'au début des années 2000 que les techniques nécessaires à l'analyse et l'optimisation des codes LDPC ont été développées, techniques qui ont permis ensuite la construction des codes avec des performances asymptotiques proches de la limite de Shannon. Cette remarquable avancée a motivé l'intérêt croissant de la communauté scientifique et soutenu le transfert rapide de cette technologie vers le secteur industriel. Plus récemment, un intérêt tout particulier a été porté aux codes LDPC définis sur des alphabets non-binaires, grâce notamment à leur meilleure capacité de correction en « longueur finie ». Bien que Gallager ait déjà proposé l'utilisation des alphabets non-binaires, en utilisant l'arithmétique modulaire, les codes LDPC non-binaires définis sur les corps finis n'ont étés étudiés qu'à partir de la fin des années 90. Il a été montré que ces codes offrent de meilleures performances que leurs équivalents binaires lorsque le bloc codé est de longueur faible à modérée, ou lorsque les symboles transmis sur le canal sont eux-mêmes des symboles non-binaires, comme par exemple dans le cas des modulations d'ordre supérieur ou des canaux à antennes multiples.Cependant, ce gain en performance implique un coût non négligeable en termes de complexité de décodage, quipeut entraver l'utilisation des codes LDPC non binaires dans des systèmes réels, surtout lorsque le prix à payer encomplexité est plus important que le gain en performance.Cette thèse traite de l'analyse et de la conception des codes LDPC non binaires pour des canaux à évanouissements. L'objectif principal de la thèse est de démontrer que, outre le gain en performance en termes de capacité de correction, l'emploi des codes LDPC non binaires peut apporter des bénéfices supplémentaires,qui peuvent compenser l'augmentation de la complexité du décodeur. La « flexibilité » et la « diversité »représentent les deux bénéfices qui seront démontrées dans cette thèse. La « flexibilité » est la capacité d'unsystème de codage de pouvoir s'adapter à des débits (rendements) variables tout en utilisant le même encodeuret le même décodeur. La « diversité » se rapporte à sa capacité d'exploiter pleinement l'hétérogénéité du canal de communication.La première contribution de cette thèse consiste à développer une méthode d'approximation de l'évolution de densité des codes LDPC non-binaires, basée sur la simulation Monte-Carlo d'un code « infini ». Nous montrons que la méthode proposée fournit des estimations très fines des performances asymptotiques des codes LDPCnon-binaires et rend possible l'optimisation de ces codes pour une large gamme d'applications et de modèles de canaux.La deuxième contribution de la thèse porte sur l'analyse et la conception de système de codage flexible,utilisant des techniques de poinçonnage. Nous montrons que les codes LDPC non binaires sont plus robustes au poinçonnage que les codes binaires, grâce au fait que les symboles non-binaires peuvent être partialement poinçonnés. Pour les codes réguliers, nous montrons que le poinçonnage des codes non-binaires obéit à des règles différentes, selon que l'on poinçonne des symboles de / Over the last 15 years, spectacular advances in the analysis and design of graph-basedcodes and iterative decoding techniques paved the way for the development of error correctionsystems operating very close to the theoretical Shannon limit. A prominent rolehas been played by the class of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, introduced inthe early 60's by Gallager's and described latter in terms of sparse bipartite graphs. In theearly 2000's, LDPC codes were shown to be capacity approaching codes for a wide rangeof channel models, which motivated the increased interest of the scientific community andsupported the rapid transfer of this technology to the industrial sector. Over the past fewyears there has been an increased interest in non-binary LDPC codes due to their enhancedcorrection capacity. Although Gallager already proposed in his seminal work the use ofnon-binary alphabets (by using modular arithmetic), non-binary LDPC codes defined overfinite fields have only been investigated starting with the late 90's. They have been provento provide better performance than their binary counterparts when the block-length issmall to moderate, or when the symbols sent through channel are not binary, which is thecase for high-order modulations or for multiple-antennas channels. However, the performancegain comes at a non-negligible cost in the decoding complexity, which may prohibitthe use of non-binary LDPC codes in practical systems, especially when the price to payin decoding complexity is too high for the performance gain that one can get.This thesis addresses the analysis and design of non-binary LDPC codes for fadingchannels. The main goal is to demonstrate that besides the gain in the decoding performance,the use of non-binary LDPC codes can bring additional benefits that may offsetthe extra cost in decoding complexity. Flexibility and diversity are the two benefitsthat we demonstrate in this thesis. The exibility is the capacity of a coding system toaccommodate multiple coding rates through the use of a unique encoder/decoder pair. Thediversity of a coding system relates to its capacity to fully exploit the communicationchannel's heterogeneity.The first contribution of the thesis is the development of a Density Evolution approximationmethod, based on the Monte-Carlo simulation of an infinite code. We showthat the proposed method provides accurate and precise estimates of non-binary ensemblethresholds, and makes possible the optimization of non-binary codes for a wide range ofapplications and channel models.The second contribution of the thesis consists of the analysis and design of flexiblecoding schemes through the use of puncturing. We show that the non-binary LDPCcodes are more robust to puncturing than their binary counterparts, thanks to the factthat non-binary symbol-nodes can be only partially punctured. For regular codes, we showthat the design of puncturing patterns must respect different rules depending on whetherthe symbol-nodes are of degree 2 or higher. For irregular codes we propose an optimizationprocedure and we present optimized puncturing distributions for non-binary LDPC codes,iiiwhich exhibit a gap to capacity between 0.2 and 0.5dB , for punctured rates varying from0.5 to 0.9.The third contribution investigates the non-binary LDPC codes transmitted over aRayleigh (fast) fading channel, in which different modulated symbols are affected by differentfading factors. In case of one-to-one correspondence between modulated and codedsymbols, deep fading can make some coded symbols totally unrecoverable, leading to apoor system performance. In order to avoid this phenomenon, binary diversity can beexploited by using a bit-interleaver module placed between the encoder and the modulator.We propose an optimized interleaving algorithm, inspired from the Progressive Edge-Growth (PEG) method, which ensures maximum girth of th

Advances in communications technologies entail demands for higher data rates. One of the popular solutions to fulfill this requirement was to allocate additional bandwidth, which unfortunately is not anymore viable due to spectrum scarcity. In addition, spectrum measurements around the globe have revealed the fact that the available spectrum is under-utilized. One of the most remarkable solutions to cope with the under-utilization of radio-frequency (RF) spectrum is the concept of cognitive radio (CR) with spectrum sharing features, also referred to as spectrum sharing systems. In CR systems, the main implementation issue is spectrum sensing because of the uncertainties in propagation channel, hidden primary user (PU) problem, sensing duration and security issues. Hence, the accuracy and reliability of the spectrum sensing information may inherently be suspicious and questionable. Due to the imprecise spectrum sensing information, this dissertation investigates the performance of an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)-based CR spectrum sharing communication system that assumes random allocation and absence of the PU's channel occupation information, i.e., no spectrum sensing is employed to acquire information about the availability of unused subcarriers or the PU's activity. In addition, no cooperation occurs between the transmitters of the PUs and secondary users (SUs). The main benefit of random subcarrier utilization is to uniformly distribute the amount of SUs' interference among the PUs' subcarriers, which can be termed as interference spreading. The analysis and performance of such a communication set-up provides useful insights and can be utilized as a valid benchmark for performance comparison studies in CR spectrum sharing systems that assume the availability of spectrum sensing information. In the first part this dissertation, due to the lack of information about PUs' activities, the SU randomly allocates the subcarriers of the primary network and collide with the PUs' subcarriers with a certain probability. The average capacity of SU with subcarrier collisions is employed as performance measure to investigate the proposed random allocation scheme for both general and Rayleigh channel fading models. In the presence of multiple SUs, the multiuser diversity gain of SUs is also investigated. To avoid the subcarrier collisions at the SUs due to the random allocation scheme and to obtain the maximum sum rate for SUs based on the available subcarriers, an efficient centralized sequential algorithm based on the opportunistic scheduling and random allocation (utilization) methods is proposed to ensure the orthogonality of assigned subcarriers. In the second part of this dissertation, in addition to the collisions between the SUs and PUs, the inter-cell collisions among the subcarriers of SUs (belonging to different cells) are assumed to occur due to the inherent nature of random access scheme. A stochastic analysis of the number of subcarrier collisions between the SUs' and PU's subcarriers assuming fixed and random number of subcarriers requirements for each user is conducted. The performance of the random scheme in terms of capacity and capacity (rate) loss caused by the subcarrier collisions is investigated by assuming an interference power constraint at PU to protect its operation. Lastly, a theoretical channel fading model, termed hyper fading channel model, that is suitable to the dynamic nature of CR channel is proposed and analyzed. To perform a general analysis, the achievable average capacity of CR spectrum sharing systems over the proposed dynamic fading environments is studied.

This paper offers a comprehensive and integrative overview of all empirical data available from the open literature on the in-tunnel radiowave-communication channel's power loss characteristics, as a function of the tunnel's cross-sectional shape, cross-sectional size, longitudinal shape, wall materials, presence or absence of vehicular/human traffic, and presence/absence of branches. These data were originally presented in about 50 papers in various journals, conferences, and books.

This paper offers a comprehensive and integrative overview of all empirical data available from the open literature on the in-tunnel radiowave-communication channel's power loss characteristics, as a function of the tunnel's cross-sectional shape, cross-sectional size, longitudinal shape, wall materials, presence or absence of vehicular/human traffic, and presence/absence of branches. These data were originally presented in about 50 papers in various journals, conferences, and books.

<p>Two topics in fading channels with a strict delay constraint and a resolution-constrained feedback link are treated in this thesis.</p><p>First, a multi-layer variable-rate single-antenna communication system with quantized feedback, where the expected rate is chosen as the performance measure, is studied under both short-term and long-term power constraints. Iterative algorithms exploiting results in the literature of parallel broadcast channels are developed to design the system parameters. A necessary and sufficient condition for single-layer coding to be optimal is derived. In contrast to the ergodic case, it is shown that a few bits of feedback information can improve the expected rate dramatically. The role of multi-layer coding, however, reduces quickly as the resolution of the feedback link increases.</p><p>The other part of the thesis deals with partial power control systems utilizing quantized feedback to minimize outage probability, with an emphasis on the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff. An index mapping with circular structure is shown to be optimal and the design is facilitated with a justified Gaussian approximation. The diversity gain as a function of the feedback resolution is analyzed. The results are then extended to characterize the entire diversity-multiplexing tradeoff curve of multiple-antenna channels with resolution-constrained feedback. Adaptive-rate communication is also studied, where the concept of minimum multiplexing gain is introduced. It is shown that the diversity gain of a system increases significantly even with coarsely quantized feedback, especially at low multiplexing gains.</p>

abstract: Full-duplex communication has attracted significant attention as it promises to increase the spectral efficiency compared to half-duplex. Multi-hop full-duplex networks add new dimensions and capabilities to cooperative networks by facilitating simultaneous transmission and reception and improving data rates. When a relay in a multi-hop full-duplex system amplifies and forwards its received signals, due to the presence of self-interference, the input-output relationship is determined by recursive equations. This thesis introduces a signal flow graph approach to solve the problem of finding the input-output relationship of a multi-hop amplify-and-forward full-duplex relaying system using Mason's gain formula. Even when all links have flat fading channels, the residual self-interference component due to imperfect self-interference cancellation at the relays results in an end-to-end effective channel that is an all-pole frequency-selective channel. Also, by assuming the relay channels undergo frequency-selective fading, the outage probability analysis is performed and the performance is compared with the case when the relay channels undergo frequency-flat fading. The outage performance of this system is performed assuming that the destination employs an equalizer or a matched filter. For the case of a two-hop (single relay) full-duplex amplify-and-forward relaying system, the bounds on the outage probability are derived by assuming that the destination employs a matched filter or a minimum mean squared error decision feedback equalizer. For the case of a three-hop (two-relay) system with frequency-flat relay channels, the outage probability analysis is performed by considering the output SNR of different types of equalizers and matched filter at the destination. Also, the closed-form upper bounds on the output SNR are derived when the destination employs a minimum mean squared error decision feedback equalizer which is used in outage probability analysis. It is seen that for sufficiently high target rates, full-duplex relaying with equalizers is always better than half-duplex relaying in terms of achieving lower outage probability, despite the higher RSI. In contrast, since full-duplex relaying with MF is sensitive to RSI, it is outperformed by half-duplex relaying under strong RSI. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2016

Multiple antenna techniques are used to increase the robustness and performance of wireless networks. Multiple antenna techniques can achieve diversity and increase bandwidth efficiency when specially designed channel codes are used at the scheme’s transmitter. These channel codes can be designed in the space, time and frequency domain. These specially designed channel codes in the space and time domain are actually designed for flat fading channels and in frequency selective fading channel, their performance may be degraded. To counteract this possible performance degradation in frequency selective fading channel, two main approaches can be applied to mitigate the effect of the symbol interference due to the frequency selective fading channel. These approaches are multichannel equalisation and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). In this thesis, a multichannel equalisation technique and OFDM were applied to channel codes specially designed for multiple antenna systems. An optimum receiver was proposed for super-orthogonal space-time trellis codes in a multichannel equalised frequency selective environment. Although the proposed receiver had increased complexity, the diversity order is still the same as compared to the code in a flat fading channel. To take advantage of the multipath diversity possible in a frequency selective fading channel, super-orthogonal block codes were employed in an OFDM environment. A new kind of super-orthogonal block code was proposed in this thesis. Super-orthogonal space-frequency trellis-coded OFDM was proposed to take advantage of not only the possible multipath diversity but also the spatial diversity for coded OFDM schemes. Based on simulation results in this thesis, the proposed coded OFDM scheme performs better than all other coded OFDM schemes (i.e. space time trellis-coded OFDM, space-time block coded OFDM, space-frequency block coded OFDM and super-orthogonal space-time trellis-coded OFDM). A simplified channel estimation algorithm was proposed for two of the coded OFDM schemes, which form a broad-based classification of coded OFDM schemes, i.e. trelliscoded schemes and block-coded schemes. Finally in this thesis performance analysis using the Gauss Chebychev quadrature technique as a way of validating simulation results was done for super-orthogonal block coded OFDM schemes when channel state information is known and when it is estimated. The results obtained show that results obtained via simulation and analysis are asymptotic and therefore the proposed analysis technique can be use to obtain error rate values for different SNR region instead of time consuming simulation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

Two topics in fading channels with a strict delay constraint and a resolution-constrained feedback link are treated in this thesis. First, a multi-layer variable-rate single-antenna communication system with quantized feedback, where the expected rate is chosen as the performance measure, is studied under both short-term and long-term power constraints. Iterative algorithms exploiting results in the literature of parallel broadcast channels are developed to design the system parameters. A necessary and sufficient condition for single-layer coding to be optimal is derived. In contrast to the ergodic case, it is shown that a few bits of feedback information can improve the expected rate dramatically. The role of multi-layer coding, however, reduces quickly as the resolution of the feedback link increases. The other part of the thesis deals with partial power control systems utilizing quantized feedback to minimize outage probability, with an emphasis on the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff. An index mapping with circular structure is shown to be optimal and the design is facilitated with a justified Gaussian approximation. The diversity gain as a function of the feedback resolution is analyzed. The results are then extended to characterize the entire diversity-multiplexing tradeoff curve of multiple-antenna channels with resolution-constrained feedback. Adaptive-rate communication is also studied, where the concept of minimum multiplexing gain is introduced. It is shown that the diversity gain of a system increases significantly even with coarsely quantized feedback, especially at low multiplexing gains. / QC 20101117