Due to the uncertainties introduced by the propagation channel, and RF and mixed signal circuits imperfections, digital communication receivers require efficient and robust signal acquisition algorithms for timing and carrier recovery, and interfer- ence rejection. The main theme of this work is the development of efficient and robust signal synchronization and interference rejection schemes for narrowband, wideband and ultra wideband communications systems. A series of novel signal acquisition schemes together with their performance analysis and comparisons with existing state-of-the- art results are introduced. The design effort is first focused on narrowband systems, and then on wideband and ultra wideband systems. For single carrier modulated narrowband systems, it is found that conventional timing recovery schemes present low efficiency, e.g., certain feedback timing recov- ery schemes exhibit the so-called hang-up phenomenon, while another class of blind feedforward timing recovery schemes presents large self-noise. Based on a general re- search framework, we propose new anti-hangup algorithms and prefiltering techniques to speed up the feedback timing recovery and reduce the self-noise of feedforward tim- ing estimators, respectively. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique is well suited for wideband wireless systems. However, OFDM receivers require high performance car-rier and timing synchronization. A new coarse synchronization scheme is proposed for efficient carrier frequency offset and timing acquisition. Also, a novel highly accurate decision-directed algorithm is proposed to track and compensate the residual phase and timing errors after the coarse synchronization step. Both theoretical analysis and computer simulations indicate that the proposed algorithms greatly improve the performance of OFDM receivers. The results of an in-depth study show that a narrowband interference (NBI) could cause serious performance loss in multiband OFDMbased ultra-wideband (UWB) sys- tems. A novel NBI mitigation scheme, based on a digital NBI detector and adaptive analog notch filter bank, is proposed to reduce the effects of NBI in UWB systems. Simulation results show that the proposed NBI mitigation scheme improves signifi- cantly the performance of a standard UWB receiver (this improvement manifests as a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain of 9 dB).

No description available.

This research investigates robust demodulation of Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) signals, using demodulator diversity and real-time bit-error-rate (BER) estimation. GMSK is particularly important because of its use in promi- nent wireless standards around the world (GSM, DECT, CDPD, DCS1800, and PCS1900). The dissertation begins with a literature review of GMSK demodu- lation techniques (coherent and noncoherent) and includes an overview of single- channel interference rejection techniques in digital wireless communications. Vari- ous forms of GMSK demodulation are simulated, including the limiter discrimina- tor and di erential demodulator (i.e., twenty-five variations in all). Ten represent new structures and variations. The demodulator performances are evaluated in realistic wireless environments, such as additive white Gaussian noise, co-channel interference, and multipath environments modeled by COST207 and SMRCIM. Certain demodulators are superior to others for particular channel impairments, so that no demodulator is necessarily the best in every channel impairment. This research formally introduces the concept of demodulator diversity, a new idea which consists of a bank of demodulators which simultaneously demodulate the same signal and take advantage of the redundancy in the similar signals. The dissertation also proposes practical real-time BER estimation techniques which have tremendous ramifications for communications. Using Parzen's estimator for probability density functions (pdfs) and Gram-Charlier series approximation for pdfs, BER can be estimated using short observation intervals (10 to 500 training symbols) and, in some cases, without any training sequence. We also introduce new variations of Gram-Charlier estimation using robust estimators. BER (in place of MSE) can now drive adaptive signal processing. Using a cost function and gradient for Parzen's estimator (derived in this paper), BER estimation is applied to demodulator diversity with substantial gains of 1-10 dB in carrier- to-interference ratio over individual receivers in realistic channels (with adaptive selection and weighting). With such gains, a BER-based demodulator diversity scheme can allow the employment of a frequency reuse factor of N = 4, instead of N = 7, with no degradation in performance. A lower reuse factor means more channels are available in a cell, thus increasing overall capacity. The resulting techniques are simple and easily implemented at the mobile. BER estimation techniques can also be used in BER-based equalization and dynamic allocation of resources. / Ph. D.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 27-30, 1997 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / In this paper, the basic ideas of advanced Spread Spectrum Unified Tracking Telemetry & Command System are introduced, the approaches and strategies to reject narrowband interference, multiple access interference and multipath interference are discussed. With effective interference-rejection, the safety and robustness of SS-UTTCS will be improved enormously.

The 5 GHz Wireless LAN (802.11a) is a popular standard for wireless indoor communications providing moderate range and speed. Combined with the emerging ultra Wideband standard (UWB) for short range and high speed communications, the two standards promise to fulfil all areas of wireless application needs. However, due to the overlapping of the two spectrums, the stronger 802.11a signals tend to interfere causing degradation to the UWB receiver. This presents one of the main technical challenges preventing the wide acceptance of UWB. The research work presented in this thesis is to propose a low cost RF receiver front-end filter topology that would resolve the narrowband (NB) interference to UWB receiver while being operable in both 802.11a mode and UWB mode. The goal of the dual mode filter design is to reduce cost and complexity by developing a fully integrated front-end filter. The filter design utilizes high Q passive devices and Q-enhancement technique to provide front-end channel-selection in NB mode and NB interference rejection in UWB mode. In the 802.11a NB mode, the filter has a tunable gain of 4 dB to 25 dB, NF of 8 dB and an IIP3 between -47 dBm and -18 dBm. The input impedance is matched at -16 dB. The frequency of operation can be tuned from 5.15 GHz to 5.35 GHz. In the UWB mode, the filter has a gain of 0 dB to 8 dB across 3.1 GHz to 9 GHz. The filter can reject the NB interference between 5.15 GHz to 5.35 GHz at up to 60 dB. The Q of the filter is tunable up to a 250 while consuming a maximum of 23.4 mW of power. The fully integrated dual mode filter occupies a die area of 1.1 mm2.

The 5 GHz Wireless LAN (802.11a) is a popular standard for wireless indoor communications providing moderate range and speed. Combined with the emerging ultra Wideband standard (UWB) for short range and high speed communications, the two standards promise to fulfil all areas of wireless application needs. However, due to the overlapping of the two spectrums, the stronger 802.11a signals tend to interfere causing degradation to the UWB receiver. This presents one of the main technical challenges preventing the wide acceptance of UWB. The research work presented in this thesis is to propose a low cost RF receiver front-end filter topology that would resolve the narrowband (NB) interference to UWB receiver while being operable in both 802.11a mode and UWB mode. The goal of the dual mode filter design is to reduce cost and complexity by developing a fully integrated front-end filter. The filter design utilizes high Q passive devices and Q-enhancement technique to provide front-end channel-selection in NB mode and NB interference rejection in UWB mode. In the 802.11a NB mode, the filter has a tunable gain of 4 dB to 25 dB, NF of 8 dB and an IIP3 between -47 dBm and -18 dBm. The input impedance is matched at -16 dB. The frequency of operation can be tuned from 5.15 GHz to 5.35 GHz. In the UWB mode, the filter has a gain of 0 dB to 8 dB across 3.1 GHz to 9 GHz. The filter can reject the NB interference between 5.15 GHz to 5.35 GHz at up to 60 dB. The Q of the filter is tunable up to a 250 while consuming a maximum of 23.4 mW of power. The fully integrated dual mode filter occupies a die area of 1.1 mm2.

Low size, low power, and wearable bio-signal recording systems require acquisition front-ends with high common-mode rejection for interference suppression and adjustable gain to provide an optimum signal level to a cascading analog-to-digital stage. This thesis presents the realization of microcontroller operated double-differential (DD) recording setup with automatic gain control (AGC) and automatic balance control, which can adjust the magnitude of recorded bio-potential signal to a target level and reject common-mode interference for full-bandwidth recording without filtering. Microcontroller code realizes the automatic control method of gain and balance adjustment by detecting, computing, and varying parameters to set timing clock pulses, which determine the gain magnitude and balance state. The automatic balance control compensates for imbalance in electrode interface impedance. The double-differential amplifier is implemented using two integrated variable gain amplifiers (ASIC) and one adder. Measured results of the variable gain amplifiers fabricated in 0.35 £gm CMOS technology show an input spot noise of 169 nV/¡ÔHz, a NEF below 10, and a circuit active area of 0.017 mm2 with a power consumption of 1.44 £gW. Measured results of the double-differential amplifier setup confirm interference suppression of 25.7 dB, tunable gain range of 39.6 dB, and 239 nV/¡ÔHz noise assuming ¡Ó10% interface mismatch. Practical measured examples incorporating the chips confirm gain control suitable for bio-potential recording and interference suppression in a balanced DD arrangement for electrocardiogram and electromyogram recording.

The inadequacy of conventional CDMA receivers in a multiple access interference-limited mobile radio environment has spurred research on advanced receiver technologies. This research investigates the use of adaptive receivers for single user demodulation to overcome some of the deficiencies of a conventional receiver and, hence, enhance the system capacity. Several new adaptive techniques are proposed. The new techniques and some existing schemes are analyzed. The limitation of existing blind algorithms in multipath channels is analyzed and a new blind algorithm is proposed that overcomes this limitation. The optimal receiver structure for multi-rate spread spectrum systems is derived and the performance of this receiver in various propagation channels is investigated. The application of coherent and differentially coherent implementations of the adaptive receiver in the presence of carrier frequency offsets is analyzed. The performance of several new adaptive receiver structures for frequency offset compensation is also studied in this research. Analysis of the minimum mean-squared error receiver is carried out to provide a better understanding of the dependence of its performance on channel parameters and to explain the near-far resilience of the receiver. Complex differentially coherent versions of the sign algorithm and the signed regressor algorithm, algorithms that have a much lower computational complexity than the least-means square algorithm, are proposed and applied for CDMA interference rejection. / Ph. D.

With the rapid and ubiquitous deployment of mobile communications in recent years, cochannel interference has become a critical problem because of its impact on system capacity and quality of service. The conventional approach to minimizing interference is through better cell planning and design. Digital Signal Processing COSP) based interference rejection techniques provide an alternative approach to minimize interference and improve system capacity. Single channel adaptive interference rejection techniques have long been used for enhancing digitally modulated signals. However these techniques are not well suited for analog mobile phone system (AMPS) and narrowband AMPS (NAMPS) signals because of the large spectral overlap of the signals of interest with interfering signals and because of the lack of a well defined signal structure that can be used to separate the signals. Our research has created novel interference rejection techniques based on time-dependent filtering which exploit spectral correlation characteristics exhibited by AMPS and NAMPS signals. A mathematical analysis of the cyclostationary features of AMPS and NAMPS signals is presented to help explain and analyze these techniques. Their performance is investigated using both simulated and digitized data. The impact of these new techniques on AMPS system capacity is also studied. The adaptive algorithms and structures are refined to be robust in various channel environments and to be computationally efficient. / Ph. D.

Recently, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology based on the transmission of short duration pulses has gained much interest for its application to wireless communications. This thesis covers a range of topics related to the analysis of indoor UWB channels for communications and to system level design issues for UWB receivers. Measurement based UWB small scale modeling and characterization efforts as well as UWB communications system analysis and simulation are presented. Relevant background material related to UWB communications and wireless channel modeling is presented. The details of the small scale channel modeling work, including statistical characterization and potential models, are discussed. A detailed analysis of the CLEAN algorithm, which was used to process all the measurement data, is also given, and some limitations of the algorithm are presented. The significance of the channel impulse response model chosen for the simulation of UWB communications systems is also evaluated. Three traditional models are found to be useful for modeling NLOS UWB channels, but not LOS channels. A new model for LOS UWB channels is presented and shown to represent LOS channels much more accurately than the traditional models. Receiver architectures for UWB systems are also discussed. The performance of correlation receivers and energy detector receivers are compared as well as Rake diversity forms of each of these types to show tradeoffs in system complexity with performance. Interference to and by UWB signals is considered. A narrowband rejection system for UWB receivers is shown to offer significant system improvement is the presence of strong interferers. / Master of Science