Thesis (M. Engin.)--Flinders University, School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics. / Typescript bound. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-133). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.E.C.E.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Fouad Kiamilev, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Fouad Kiamilev, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Fouad Kiamilev, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Laskar, Joy; Committee Member: Cressler, John; Committee Member: Tentzeris, Manos. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

In the past, radio-frequency signals were commonly used for low-speed wireless electronic systems, and optical signals were used for multi-gigabit wired communication systems. However, as the emergence of new millimeter-wave technology introduces multi-gigabit transmission over a wireless radio-frequency channel, the borderline between radio-frequency and optical systems becomes blurred. As a result, there come ample opportunities to design and develop next-generation broadband systems to combine the advantages of these two technologies to overcome inherent limitations of various broadband end-to-end interconnect systems in signal generation, recovery, synchronization, and so on. For the transmission distances of a few centimeters to thousands of kilometers, the convergence of radio-frequency electronics and optics to build radio-over-fiber systems ushers in a new era of research for the upcoming very-high-throughput broadband services. Radio-over-fiber systems are believed to be the most promising solution to the backhaul transmission of the millimeter-wave wireless access networks, especially for the license-free, very-high-throughput 60-GHz band. Adopting radio-over-fiber systems in access or in-building networks can greatly extend the 60-GHz signal reach by using ultra-low loss optical fibers. However, such high frequency is difficult to generate in a straightforward way. In this dissertation, the novel techniques of homodyne and heterodyne optical-carrier suppressions for radio-over-fiber systems are investigated and various system architectures are designed to overcome these limitations of 60-GHz wireless access networks, bringing the popularization of multi-gigabit wireless networks to become closer to the reality. In addition to the advantages for the access networks, extremely high spectral efficiency, which is the most important parameter for long-haul networks, can be achieved by radio-over-fiber signal generation. As a result, the transmission performance of spectrally efficient radio-over-fiber signaling, including orthogonal frequency division multiplexing and orthogonal wavelength division multiplexing, is broadly and deeply investigated. On the other hand, radio-over-fiber is also used for the frequency synchronization that can resolve the performance limitation of wireless interconnect systems. A novel wireless interconnects assisted by radio-over-fiber subsystems is proposed in this dissertation. In conclusion, multiple advantageous facets of radio-over-fiber systems can be found in various levels of end-to-end interconnect systems. The rapid development of radio-over-fiber systems will quickly change the conventional appearance of modern communications.

Component design for a proposed 60 GHz short-range low-power high-data-rate On-Off Keying receiver in a 90 nm CMOS process is presented. The advances in RFCMOS and the commercial need for high data-rate wireless links are discussed as the enabling technology and motivation for research into the development of 60 GHz CMOS radios for wireless personal area networks. System level calculations are presented validating the feasibility of the proposed receiver topology for its target application. The design and simulation results of a 60 GHz low noise amplifier, 60 GHz direct-conversion demodulator (which has generated an invention disclosure), and a baseband amplifier are discussed in detail. Also presented is a discussion of device modeling techniques for millimeter-wave designs. Measured results are presented for the demodulator. Finally, recommendations for future work are presented.

This thesis presents methods for developing FPGA-based test solutions that solve the challenges of evaluating source-synchronous and protocol-laden systems and devices at multi-gigabit per second signaling rates. These interfaces are becoming more prevalent in emerging designs and are difficult to test using traditional automated test equipment (ATE) and test instrumentation which were designed for testing designs utilizing synchronous and deterministic signaling. The main motivation of this research was to develop solutions that address these challenges. The methods shown in this thesis are used to design a test architecture consisting of custom hardware components, reprogrammable digital logic for hardware integration, and a software interface for external data transport and configuration. The hardware components consist of a multi-GHz field programmable gate array (FPGA) based interface board providing processing, control, and data capabilities to the system and enhanced by one or more application modules which can be tailored for specific test functionality compatible with source-synchronous and protocol interfaces. Software controls from a host computer provide high and low level access to the internal tester data and configuration memory space. The architecture described in this thesis is demonstrated through a specific test solution for a high-speed optical packet switched network called the Data Vortex. Reprogrammable firmware and software controls allow for a high degree of adaptability and application options. The modularized implementation of the hardware elements introduces additional adaptability and future upgradability, capable of incorporating new materials and design techniques for the test platform and application modules.