Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is maturing and is being incorporated into emerging wireless broadband standards like long-term evolution (LTE) [1]. For example, the LTE standard allows for up to eight antenna ports at the base station. Basically, the more antennas the transmitter/receiver is equipped with, and the more degrees of freedom that the propagation channel can provide, the better the performance in terms of data rate or link reliability. More precisely, on a quasi static channel where a code word spans across only one time and frequency coherence interval, the reliability of a point-to-point MIMO link scales according to Prob(link outage) ` SNR-ntnr where nt and nr are the numbers of transmit and receive antennas, respectively, and signal-to-noise ratio is denoted by SNR. On a channel that varies rapidly as a function of time and frequency, and where circumstances permit coding across many channel coherence intervals, the achievable rate scales as min(nt, nr) log(1 + SNR). The gains in multiuser systems are even more impressive, because such systems offer the possibility to transmit simultaneously to several users and the flexibility to select what users to schedule for reception at any given point in time [2].

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Scaling Up MIMO: Opportunities and Challenges with Very Large Arrays

This paper presents the expected transmission count metric (ETX), which finds high-throughput paths on multi-hop wireless networks. ETX minimizes the expected total number of packet transmissions (including retransmissions) required to successfully deliver a packet to the ultimate destination. The ETX metric incorporates the effects of link loss ratios, asymmetry in the loss ratios between the two directions of each link, and interference among the successive links of a path. In contrast, the minimum hop-count metric chooses arbitrarily among the different paths of the same minimum length, regardless of the often large differences in throughput among those paths, and ignoring the possibility that a longer path might offer higher throughput.This paper describes the design and implementation of ETX as a metric for the DSDV and DSR routing protocols, as well as modifications to DSDV and DSR which allow them to use ETX. Measurements taken from a 29-node 802.11b test-bed demonstrate the poor performance of minimum hop-count, illustrate the causes of that poor performance, and confirm that ETX improves performance. For long paths the throughput improvement is often a factor of two or more, suggesting that ETX will become more useful as networks grow larger and paths become longer.

/pdf/a-high-throughput-path-metric-for-multi-hop-wireless-routing-1p4xa8p0kv.pdf

A high-throughput path metric for multi-hop wireless routing

This paper surveys recent advances in the area of very large MIMO systems. 
With very large MIMO, we think of systems that use antenna arrays with an order of magnitude more elements than in systems being built today, say a hundred antennas or more. Very large MIMO entails an unprecedented number of antennas simultaneously serving a much smaller number of terminals. The disparity in number emerges as a desirable operating condition and a practical one as well. The number of terminals that can be simultaneously served is limited, not by the number of antennas, but rather by our inability to acquire channel-state information for an unlimited number of terminals. Larger numbers of terminals can always be accommodated by combining very large MIMO technology with conventional time- and frequency-division multiplexing via OFDM. Very large MIMO arrays is a new research field both in communication theory, propagation, and electronics and represents a paradigm shift in the way of thinking both with regards to theory, systems and implementation. The ultimate vision of very large MIMO systems is that the antenna array would consist of small active antenna units, plugged into an (optical) fieldbus.

/pdf/scaling-up-mimo-opportunities-and-challenges-with-very-large-1gai688763.pdf

Scaling up MIMO: Opportunities and Challenges with Very Large Arrays

In this chapter, we will restrict our attention to the ferrites and a few other closely related materials. The great interest in ferrites stems from their unique combination of a spontaneous magnetization and a high electrical resistivity. The observed magnetization results from the difference in the magnetizations of two non-equivalent sub-lattices of the magnetic ions in the crystal structure. Materials of this type should strictly be designated as “ferrimagnetic” and in some respects are more closely related to anti-ferromagnetic substances than they are to ferromagnetics in which the magnetization results from the parallel alignment of all the magnetic moments present. We shall not adhere to this special nomenclature except to emphasize effects, which are due to the existence of the sub-lattices.

Ferromagnetic materials

Wireless vehicular communication has the potential to enable a host of new applications, the most important of which are a class of safety applications that can prevent collisions and save thousands of lives. The automotive industry is working to develop the dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology, for use in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communication. The effectiveness of this technology is highly dependent on cooperative standards for interoperability. This paper explains the content and status of the DSRC standards being developed for deployment in the United States. Included in the discussion are the IEEE 802.11p amendment for wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE), the IEEE 1609.2, 1609.3, and 1609.4 standards for Security, Network Services and Multi-Channel Operation, the SAE J2735 Message Set Dictionary, and the emerging SAE J2945.1 Communication Minimum Performance Requirements standard. The paper shows how these standards fit together to provide a comprehensive solution for DSRC. Most of the key standards are either recently published or expected to be completed in the coming year. A reader will gain a thorough understanding of DSRC technology for vehicular communication, including insights into why specific technical solutions are being adopted, and key challenges remaining for successful DSRC deployment. The U.S. Department of Transportation is planning to decide in 2013 whether to require DSRC equipment in new vehicles.

Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) Standards in the United States

Time reversal (TR) is a promising technique in detecting weak targets immersed in clutter. This paper reports a series of electromagnetic (EM) domain experiments on TR detection using a single antenna pair in a controlled scattering environment. The TR likelihood ratio detector is compared with the conventional energy detector and the matched filter. The EM experiments demonstrate the superiority of TR detection over conventional detection in rich multipath scattering environments.

Time Reversal Detection in Clutter: Additional Experimental Results

We report the propagation characteristics of magnetostatic surface waves in a rectangular yttrium iron garnet film placed between strips of mumetal and in the plane of the strips. The microstrip excitation structure was designed so as to permit the strips to extend along the entire path of propagation, thereby minimizing field nonuniformities in the longitudinal direction. These experiments suggest that nonuniform in‐plane fields can be used to alter the dispersion characteristics of the waves. A theoretical argument is also presented describing a possible energy localization mechanism in nonuniform in‐plane fields. In addition, experiments are described in which nonuniform fields caused by a slot in a mumetal covering layer are used to guide magnetostatic surface waves through a turn of 160°.

Guiding magnetostatic surface waves with nonuniform in‐plane fields

In this paper, the use of hollow metal heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) ducts as a potential communication channel between passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers and tags is studied. HVAC ducts behave as electromagnetic waveguides with much lower signal attenuation compared to free-space propagation. This low-loss electromagnetic environment allows one to greatly increase the communication range of passive UHF RFID systems and build, for example, a long range passive sensor network spanning an entire infrastructure such as a large building. In this work, it is shown both theoretically and experimentally that the read range of passive UHF RFID systems can be increased by multiple times compared to operation in a free-space environment.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/5/5552238/05471241.pdf

Long Range Passive UHF RFID System Using HVAC Ducts To provide a potential communications channel, HVAC ducts can function as electromagnetic waveguides; a 30-m read range has been achieved within a free space range of 6 m.

The excitation of large amplitude spin waves causes a shift in the resonance frequency of a ferrite resonator towards higher frequency values. Using this shift, a resonator can be designed to operate in a bistable mode where the history of the input power determines the output power. A theoretical calculation for a resonator with a linewidth of 1.5 MHz, measured at 10 GHz, predicts a discontinuous jump in output power by a factor of about 3.5 as the input power is increased to about 0.7 mW. The phenomenological model that describes the bistability also provides an explanation for the foldover of ferromagnetic resonance curves at high input power levels. An appropriate choice for the operating frequency ensures that the estimated input power required to observe the bistable behavior is below the predicted threshold power for spin-wave auto-oscillations at the main resonance.

Nonlinear microwave-magnetic resonator operated as a bistable device

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ducts in buildings behave as multimode waveguides when excited at radio frequencies and thus, can be used to distribute radio signals. The channel properties of the ducts are different from the properties of a usual indoor propagation channel. In this paper, we describe physical mechanisms which affect the HVAC channel impulse response and analyze their influence on the delay spread. Those mechanisms include antenna coupling, attenuation, and three types of dispersion: intramodal, intermodal, and multipath. We analyze each type separately and explore the behavior of the delay spread as a function of distance in straight ducts. Experimental channel measurements taken on real ducts confirm the validity of our model.

Daniel D. Stancil

Papers

Time Reversal Detection in Clutter: Additional Experimental Results

Guiding magnetostatic surface waves with nonuniform in‐plane fields

Long Range Passive UHF RFID System Using HVAC Ducts To provide a potential communications channel, HVAC ducts can function as electromagnetic waveguides; a 30-m read range has been achieved within a free space range of 6 m.

Nonlinear microwave-magnetic resonator operated as a bistable device

Impulse response of the HVAC duct as a communication channel