Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless communication systems employ large bandwidths and low transmitted power spectral densities, and are suitable for operation as underlay systems which reuse allocated spectrum. The subject of this dissertation is Multiband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) UWB for high data-rate communication. We address four main questions: (1) What are the theoretical performance limits and practical system performance of MB-OFDM? (2) What extensions can be used to increase the system power efficiency and range? (3) Is it possible to estimate the system error rate without resorting to time-consuming simulations? and (4) What is the effect of interference from narrowband systems on MB-OFDM, and can this interference be mitigated? As for questions 1 and 2, we investigate the MB-OFDM performance, and propose system enhancements consisting of advanced error correcting codes and OFDM bit-loading. Our methodology includes the development of information-theoretic performance measures and the comparison of these measures with performance results for MB-OFDM and our proposed extensions, which improve the power efficiency by over 6 dB at a data rate of 480 Mbps. To address question 3, we develop novel analytical methods for bit error rate (BER) estimation for a general class of coded multicarrier systems (of which MB-OFDM is one example) operating over quasi-static fading channels. One method calculates system performance for each channel realization. The other method assumes Rayleigh distributed subcarrier channel gains, and leads directly to the average BER. Both methods are also able to account for sum-of-tones narrowband interference. As for question 4, we first present an exact analysis of the uncoded BER of MB-OFDM in the presence of interference from incumbent systems such as IEEE 802.16 ("WiMAX"). We also present a Gaussian approximation for WiMAX interference, and establish its accuracy through comparison with exact analysis and simulations. We then propose a two-stage interference mitigation technique for coded MB-OFDM, consisting of interference estimation during silent periods, followed by metric weighting during decoding, which provides substantial gains in performance in return for modest increases in complexity, and without requiring any modifications to the MB-OFDM transmitter. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Metal detection systems currently available to the general public ordinarily verify the presence of conductive material, not the shape. Shape detection is important for discrimination between dangerous and benign items. Test setups are developed useful for identifying the value of microwaves for shape detection behind selected material types. The behavior of this electromagnetic energy in homogeneous, isotropic, locally linear, temporally dispersive material is examined in the time and frequency domains. The results of the evaluations determine the behavior of continuous-wave microwave radiation and microwave pulses in such media. A unique method is then developed for detecting the shape of concealed conductive objects utilizing pulsed microwave ultrawideband spectra.

A conventional RF power amplifier will convert the low powered radio frequency signals into high powered signals. Along with the expected ability to increase the communication distance, data transfer rates, RF power amplifiers also have many applications which include military radar system, whether forecasting, etc. The main objective of any power amplifier research is to increase the efficiency while maintaining linearity and broadening the frequency of operation. The main motivation for the renewed interest in PA technology comes from the technical challenges and the economics of modern digital communication systems. Modern communications require high linear power amplifiers and in order to reduce the complete system cost, it is necessary to have a single broadband power amplifier, which can amplify multiple carriers. The improvement in the efficiency of the power amplifier increases the battery life and also reduces the cooling requirements for the same output power. In this thesis, I aim to design and build a wideband class J power amplifier suitable for modern communications. For wideband operation of the GaN technology PA, a bandwidth extension design method is studied and implemented. The simulation results are proved to have a good argument with the theoretical calculations.

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The next generation of receivers for applications such as radio astronomy, spectrum surveillance, and frequency-adaptive cognitive radio will require the capability to digitize very large bandwidths in the VHF low band (30 to 100 MHz). However, methodology for designing such a receiver is not well established. The difficulties of this design are numerous. There are various man-made interferers occupying this spectrum which can block desired signals or spectrum, either directly or through intermodulation. The receivers will typically use simple (i.e., narrowband) antennas, so the efficiency of power transfer to the preamplifier needs to be carefully considered. This thesis takes these design challenges into account and produces a seven step design methodology for direct sampling wideband digitizing receivers. The methodology is then demonstrated by example for three representative receivers. Finally, improvements to the analysis are suggested. / Master of Science

The objectives of this work are to review, investigate and model the microwave planar filters of the modern wireless communication system. The recent main stream of microwave filters are classified and discussed separately. Various microwave filters with detailed applications are investigated in terms of their geometrical structures and operational performances. A comprehensive theoretical study of microwave filters is presented. The main types of microwave filters including the basic low-pass filters such as Butterworth and Chebyshev filters are fully analysed and described in detail. The transformation from low-pass prototype filters to high-pass filters, band-pass filters and band-stop filters are illustrated and introduced. Research work on stepped impedance resonator (SIR) and asymmetric stepped impedance resonator (ASIR) structure is presented. The characteristics of λg/4, λg/2 and λg (λg is the guided wavelength of the fundamental frequency in the free space) type SIR resonators, and the characteristic of asymmetric SIR resonator are categorized and investigated. Based on the content mentioned above, novel multi-standard high performance asymmetric stepped impedance resonator single-wideband and dual-wideband filters with wide stopbands are proposed. The methodologies to realize wide passband and wide stop-band filters are detailed. In addition, multi-standard high performance triplewideband, quadruple-wideband and quint-wideband filters are suggested and studied. The measurement results for all prototype filters agree well with the theoretical predictions and simulated results from Ansoft HFSS software. The featured broad bandwidths over single/multiple applicable frequency bands and the high performances of the proposed filters make them very promising for applications in future multistandard wireless communication.

The objectives of this work are to review, investigate and model the microwave planar filters of the modern wireless communication system. The recent main stream of microwave filters are classified and discussed separately. Various microwave filters with detailed applications are investigated in terms of their geometrical structures and operational performances. A comprehensive theoretical study of microwave filters is presented. The main types of microwave filters including the basic low-pass filters such as Butterworth and Chebyshev filters are fully analysed and described in detail. The transformation from low-pass prototype filters to high-pass filters, band-pass filters and band-stop filters are illustrated and introduced. Research work on stepped impedance resonator (SIR) and asymmetric stepped impedance resonator (ASIR) structure is presented. The characteristics of λg/4, λg/2 and λg (λg is the guided wavelength of the fundamental frequency in the free space) type SIR resonators, and the characteristic of asymmetric SIR resonator are categorized and investigated. Based on the content mentioned above, novel multi-standard high performance asymmetric stepped impedance resonator single-wideband and dual-wideband filters with wide stopbands are proposed. The methodologies to realize wide passband and wide stop-band filters are detailed. In addition, multi-standard high performance triplewideband, quadruple-wideband and quint-wideband filters are suggested and studied. The measurement results for all prototype filters agree well with the theoretical predictions and simulated results from Ansoft HFSS software. The featured broad bandwidths over single/multiple applicable frequency bands and the high performances of the proposed filters make them very promising for applications in future multistandard wireless communication.

A technique for wall compensation in the ultra-wideband (UWB) through-wall imaging radar is presented. The UWB system can be utilize in high precision measurements, but due to phase distortion and amplitude attenuation caused by the wall the precision is limited, the target is displaced, and the image is defocused.  In order to mitigate the wall effects, two methods are applied in this project. First, the unknown wall transfer function is estimated using real data measurements to design the inverse filter. Secondly, FIR Wiener filter is designed to improve the received m-sequence. After all, each method is tested using three parameters, the signal to noise ratio (SNR), the signal to clutter ratio (SCR), and the relative position error (RPE).  The inverse filter can eliminate the wall effects very well; it could correct not only the position of the target but also the image defocus. The new method can give improve the image quality and that can extend the use of UWB radar in many applications.

Hyper-wideband communications represent the next frontier in spread spectrum RF systems with an excess of 10 GHz instantaneous bandwidth. In this thesis, an end-to-end physical layer link is implemented featuring 16k-OFDM with a 4 GHz-wide channel centered at 9 GHz. No a priori channel state information is assumed; channel information is derived from the preamble and comb pilot structure. Due to the unique expansive spectral properties, the channel estimator is primarily composed of least squares channel estimates combined with a robust support vector statistical learning approach using autonomously selected parameters. The system’s performance is demonstrated through indoor wireless experiments, including line-of-sight and near-line-of-sight links. Moreover, it is shown that the support vector approach performs superior to linear and cubic spline inter/extrapolation of the least squares channel estimates.