Abstract High radio capacity is one of the main targets in wireless network planning. The characteristics of the broadband radio channel pose serious challenges for achieving this goal. This thesis views the capacity problem from two frameworks. In the first, the effective user capacity in advanced direct sequence wideband code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) radio networks is evaluated. Sensitivity to various imperfections in key system parameters is studied. The analysis is based on a mathematical foundation that presents complex signal models and enables evaluation of the performance losses due to parameter estimation errors and multipath fading. The effective number of users supported in a cell is restricted by the multiple access interference (MAI) in the same cell (intracell interference) and overall background noise. The studied wideband CDMA receiver structures comprise conventional rake receivers with both the maximal ratio combining (MRC) and equal gain combining (EGC) schemes that can be supplemented with either linear decorrelating or nonlinear successive cancellation-based multiuser detectors and M-antenna spatial diversity. The second framework focuses on direct sequence spread spectrum-based ultra wideband (UWB) indoor communications. Cochannel interference limited capacity is evaluated against the outage probability criterion in exponentially decaying lognormal multipath fading channels. Distance-dependence and spatial distribution of users is taken into account at different spatial cell configurations. Only moderate complexity partial rake receivers with noncoherent combining are employed. Total interference is composed of interpath, multipath, intracell, and intercell interference contributions. Lognormal sum approximations and simulations are used to evaluate distributions of the desired and interfering signals. The impact of the timing errors at the receiver monopulse correlation is studied. The numerical results for the wideband CDMA framework show that effective user capacity and sensitivity depend critically on the joint impact of nonidealities in system parameters (e.g., channel profile, severity of fading, receiver algorithms). User capacities of the studied multiuser enhanced receivers were more prone to these impairments than those of the simpler single user receivers. The results should be used for network planning and optimization. The numerical results of the UWB framework suggest that, even in the multipath rich channel, the optimal number of rake fingers can be less than half of the significant multipaths. Differences between circular, square, and hexagonal cell models proved to be minor with respect to link distance distributions. The derived link distance statistics are useful tools in the analytic piconet dimensioning and optimization.

Abstract In this thesis, novel data and channel estimation methods are proposed and analyzed for low-complexity short-range communication (SRC) radios. Low complexity is challenging to achieve especially in very wideband or millimeter-wave SRC radios where phase recovery and energy capture from numerous multipaths easily become a bottleneck for system design. A specific type of transceiver is selected using pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) at the transmitter and energy detection (ED) at the receiver, and it is thus called an ED-PAM system. Nonnegative PAM alphabets allow using an ED structure which enables a phase-unaware detection method for avoiding complicated phase recovery at the receiver. Moreover, the ED-PAM approach results in a simple multipath energy capture, and only one real decision variable, whose dimension is independent of the symbol alphabet size, is needed. In comparison with optimal phase-aware detection, the appealing simplicity of suboptimal ED-PAM systems is achieved at the cost of the need for a higher transmitted signal energy or shorter link distance for obtaining a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver, as ED-PAM systems are more vulnerable to the effects of noise and interference. On the other hand, the consequences of requiring a higher SNR may not be severe in the type of SRC scenarios where a sufficient received SNR is readily available due to a short link distance. Furthermore, significant interference can be avoided by signal design. However, what has slowed down the development of ED-PAM systems is that efficient symbol decision threshold estimation and related error probability analysis in multipath fading channels have remained as unsolved problems. Based on the above observations, this thesis contributes to the state-of-the-art of the design and analysis for ED-PAM systems as follows. Firstly, a closed-form near-optimal decision threshold selection method, which adapts to a time-varying channel gain and enables an arbitrary choice of the PAM alphabet size and an integer time-bandwidth product of the receiver filters, is proposed. Secondly, two blind estimation schemes of the parameters for the threshold estimation are introduced. Thirdly, analytical error probability evaluation in frequency-selective multipath fading channels is addressed. Special attention is given to lognormal fading channels, which are typically used to model very wideband SRC multipath channels. Finally, analytical error probability evaluation with nonideal parameter estimation is presented. The results can be used in designing low-complexity transceivers for very wideband and millimeter-wave wireless SRC devices of the future. / Tiivistelmä Tässä työssä esitetään ja analysoidaan uusia data- ja kanavaestimointimenetelmiä, joiden tavoitteena on yksinkertaistaa lähikommunikaatiota (short-range communication, SRC) langattomien laitteiden välillä. SRC-radioiden yksinkertainen toteutus on poikkeuksellisen haasteellista silloin, kun käytetään erittäin suurta kaistanleveyttä tai millimetriaaltoalueen tiedonsiirtoa. Tällöin vastaanottimen yksinkertaisen toteutuksen voivat estää esimerkiksi kantoaallon vaiheen estimointi ja signaalienergian kerääminen lukuisilta kanavan monitiekomponenteilta. Näistä lähtökohdista valitaan SRC-radion järjestelmämalliksi positiiviseen pulssiamplitudimodulaatioon (pulse amplitude modulation, PAM) perustuva lähetin ja energiailmaisimeen (energy detection, ED) perustuva vastaanotin. ED-PAM-järjestelmän ei tarvitse tietää vastaanotetun signaalin vaihetta ja signaalienergian kerääminen tapahtuu yksinkertaisen diversiteettiyhdistelytekniikan avulla. Lisäksi ilmaisuun tarvitaan vain yksi reaalinen päätösmuuttuja, jonka dimensio on riippumaton PAM-tasojen määrästä. ED-PAM-tekniikan yksinkertaisuutta optimaaliseen vaihetietoiseen ilmaisuun verrattuna ei saavuteta ilmaiseksi. Yhtenä rajoituksena on alioptimaalisen ED-PAM-tekniikan luontainen taipumus vahvistaa kohinan ja häiriöiden vaikutusta symbolin päätöksenteossa. Kohinan vahvistus ei välttämättä ole suuri ongelma niissä SRC-radioissa, joissa pienen linkkietäisyyden johdosta riittävä signaali-kohinasuhde vastaanottimessa voidaan kohinan vahvistuksesta huolimatta saavuttaa. Myös häiriöiden vahvistuksen vaikutusta voidaan tehokkaasti vähentää signaalisuunnittelulla. Joka tapauksessa ED-PAM-tekniikan käyttöönottoa on hidastanut tehokkaiden symbolipäätöskynnysten estimointi- ja analysointimenetelmien puuttuminen. Edellä mainitut havainnot ovat motivoineet löytämään uusia suunnittelu- ja analyysimenetelmiä ED-PAM-järjestelmille seuraavasti. Symbolipäätöskynnysten estimointiin johdetaan lähes optimaalinen suljetun muodon menetelmä, joka kykenee adaptoitumaan muuttuvassa kanavassa ja valitsemaan mielivaltaisen kokonaisluvun sekä PAM-tasojen määrälle että vastaanottimen aika-kaistanleveystulolle. Lisäksi esitetään kaksi sokeaa päätöskynnysten estimointimenetelmää, jotka eivät tarvitse redundanttista opetussignaalia. Työn toisessa osassa ED-PAM-järjestelmän symbolivirhesuhdetta analysoidaan taajuusselektiivisessä monitiekanavassa. Analyysissä keskitytään log-normaalijakauman mukaan häipyvään kanavaan. Seuraavaksi analyysia laajennetaan ottamalla mukaan epäideaalisten kynnysarvojen estimoinnin vaikutus. Saavutettuja tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää erittäin laajakaistaisten ja millimetriaaltoalueen SRC-laitteiden suunnittelussa.

The atmospheric lightwave propagation is considerably influenced by the random variations in the refractive index of air pockets due to turbulence. This undesired effect significantly degrades the performance of free-space optical (FSO) communication systems. Interestingly, the severity of such random degradations is highly related to the range of atmospheric propagation. In this thesis, we introduce relay-assisted FSO communications as a very promising technique to combat the degradation effects of atmospheric turbulence. Considering different configurations of the relays, we quantify the outage behavior of the relay-assisted system and identify the optimum relaying scheme. We further optimize the performance of the relay-assisted FSO system subject to some power constraints and provide optimal power control strategies for different scenarios under consideration. Moreover, an application of FSO relaying technique in quantum communications is investigated. The results demonstrate impressive performance improvements for the proposed relay-assisted FSO systems with respect to the conventional direct transmission whether applied in a classical or a quantum communication channel.

The atmospheric lightwave propagation is considerably influenced by the random variations in the refractive index of air pockets due to turbulence. This undesired effect significantly degrades the performance of free-space optical (FSO) communication systems. Interestingly, the severity of such random degradations is highly related to the range of atmospheric propagation. In this thesis, we introduce relay-assisted FSO communications as a very promising technique to combat the degradation effects of atmospheric turbulence. Considering different configurations of the relays, we quantify the outage behavior of the relay-assisted system and identify the optimum relaying scheme. We further optimize the performance of the relay-assisted FSO system subject to some power constraints and provide optimal power control strategies for different scenarios under consideration. Moreover, an application of FSO relaying technique in quantum communications is investigated. The results demonstrate impressive performance improvements for the proposed relay-assisted FSO systems with respect to the conventional direct transmission whether applied in a classical or a quantum communication channel.