François Horlin

Bio: François Horlin is an academic researcher from Université libre de Bruxelles. The author has contributed to research in topics: Communication channel & Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing. The author has an hindex of 23, co-authored 266 publications receiving 2214 citations. Previous affiliations of François Horlin include Katholieke Universiteit Leuven & IMEC.

Mixed Analog/Digital Beamforming for 60 GHz MIMO Frequency Selective Channels

Abstract: Multi-antenna architectures, where beamforming processing is shared between analog and digital, are of great interest for future multi-Gbps wireless systems operating at 60 GHz. In this spectrum band, wireless systems can integrate large antenna arrays in a very small volume thanks to a wavelength of about 5 mm and thus provide the required gain to meet the severe link budget. However, the cost and power consumption of an analog front-end (AFE) chain, that carries out translation between radio frequency (RF) and digital baseband, are too high at 60 GHz to afford one AFE for each antenna. In this paper, we consider low cost multi-antenna architectures with a lower number of AFE chains than antenna elements. We propose a joint design of transmit-receive mixed analog/digital beamformers that aim at maximizing the received average signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). The proposed scheme shows better performance than state-of-art solutions, which combine antenna selection techniques and digital beamforming.

Dynamic Channel Modeling for Multi-Sensor Body Area Networks

Abstract: A channel model for time-variant multi-link wireless body area networks (WBANs) is proposed in this paper, based on an extensive measurement campaign using a multi-port channel sounder. A total of 12 nodes were placed on the body to measure the multi-link channel within the created WBAN. The resulting empirical model takes into account the received power, the link fading statistics, and the link auto- and cross-correlations. The distance dependence of the received power is investigated, and the link fading is modeled by a log-normal distribution. The link autocorrelation function is divided into a decaying component and a sinusoidal component to account for the periodical movement of the limbs caused by walking. The cross-correlation between different links is also shown to be high for a number of specific on-body links. Finally, the model is validated by considering several extraction-independent validation metrics: multi-hop link capacity, level crossing rate (LCR) and average fade duration (AFD). The capacity aims at validating the path-loss and fading model, while the LCR and AFD aim at validating the temporal behavior. For all validation metrics, the model is shown to satisfactorily reproduce the measurements, whereas its limits are pointed out.

Performance of emerging multi-carrier waveforms for 5G asynchronous communications

Abstract: This paper presents an extensive and fair comparison among the most promising waveform contenders for the 5G air interface. The considered waveform contenders, namely filter-bank multi-carrier (FBMC), universal-filtered multi-carrier (UFMC), generalized frequency-division multiplexing (GFDM) and resource-block filtered orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (RB-F-OFDM) are compared to OFDM used in 4G in terms of spectral efficiency, numerical complexity, robustness towards multi-user interference (MUI) and resilience to power amplifier non-linearity. FBMC shows the best spectral containment and reveals to be almost insensitive to multi-user interference. It however suffers from its bad spectral efficiency for short bursts and from its poor multiple input multiple output (MIMO) compatibility. GFDM reveals to be the most promising contender, with the best spectral efficiency and the smallest complexity overhead compared to OFDM. It is also the most resilient to multi-user interference after FBMC and is MIMO compatible as soon as the interference can be managed. UFMC and RB-F-OFDM are finally the closest to OFDM and benefit therefore from a better compatibility with existing systems, even if their performance is generally lower than FBMC and GFDM.

On the Noise Robustness of Simultaneous Orthogonal Matching Pursuit

Abstract: In this paper, the joint support recovery of several sparse signals whose supports exhibit similarities is examined. Each sparse signal is acquired using the same noisy linear measurement process, which returns fewer observations than the dimension of the sparse signals. The measurement noise is assumed additive, Gaussian, and admits different variances for each sparse signal that is measured. Using the theory of compressed sensing, the performance of simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit (SOMP) is analyzed for the envisioned signal model. The cornerstone of this paper is a novel analysis method upper bounding the probability that SOMP recovers at least one incorrect entry of the joint support during a prescribed number of iterations. Furthermore, the probability of SOMP failing is investigated whenever the number of sparse signals being recovered simultaneously increases and tends to infinity. In particular, convincing observations and theoretical results suggest that SOMP committing no mistake in the noiseless case does not guarantee the absence of error in the noisy case whenever the number of acquired sparse signals scales to infinity. Finally, simulation results confirm the validity of the theoretical results.

Joint estimation of carrier frequency offset and IQ imbalance for 4G mobile wireless systems

Abstract: In the context of 4G wireless mobile systems with direct conversion receivers, an new algorithm for carrier frequency offset (CFO) and IQ-imbalance estimation and compensation at the receiver is proposed. All processing for estimation and compensation of both CFO and IQ-imbalance is done in the time domain. Because the CFO is estimated while taking into account the presence of IQ-imbalance, a very precise estimate of the CFO can be obtained, even in the presence of large IQ-imbalance. The algorithm uses a repetitive low peak-to-average preamble sequence. At the transmitter, in order to improve the estimation result, an artificial CFO is digitally super-imposed on a part of the preamble sequence. The new algorithm yields better results than existing CFO estimation algorithms for SNRs where the IQ imbalance is dominant over the Gaussian noise. The structure of the preamble also allows an effective IQ-imbalance estimation.

Spatially Sparse Precoding in Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems

Abstract: Millimeter wave (mmWave) signals experience orders-of-magnitude more pathloss than the microwave signals currently used in most wireless applications and all cellular systems. MmWave systems must therefore leverage large antenna arrays, made possible by the decrease in wavelength, to combat pathloss with beamforming gain. Beamforming with multiple data streams, known as precoding, can be used to further improve mmWave spectral efficiency. Both beamforming and precoding are done digitally at baseband in traditional multi-antenna systems. The high cost and power consumption of mixed-signal devices in mmWave systems, however, make analog processing in the RF domain more attractive. This hardware limitation restricts the feasible set of precoders and combiners that can be applied by practical mmWave transceivers. In this paper, we consider transmit precoding and receiver combining in mmWave systems with large antenna arrays. We exploit the spatial structure of mmWave channels to formulate the precoding/combining problem as a sparse reconstruction problem. Using the principle of basis pursuit, we develop algorithms that accurately approximate optimal unconstrained precoders and combiners such that they can be implemented in low-cost RF hardware. We present numerical results on the performance of the proposed algorithms and show that they allow mmWave systems to approach their unconstrained performance limits, even when transceiver hardware constraints are considered.

Millimeter-Wave Cellular Wireless Networks: Potentials and Challenges

Abstract: Millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies between 30 and 300 GHz are a new frontier for cellular communication that offers the promise of orders of magnitude greater bandwidths combined with further gains via beamforming and spatial multiplexing from multielement antenna arrays. This paper surveys measurements and capacity studies to assess this technology with a focus on small cell deployments in urban environments. The conclusions are extremely encouraging; measurements in New York City at 28 and 73 GHz demonstrate that, even in an urban canyon environment, significant non-line-of-sight (NLOS) outdoor, street-level coverage is possible up to approximately 200 m from a potential low-power microcell or picocell base station. In addition, based on statistical channel models from these measurements, it is shown that mmW systems can offer more than an order of magnitude increase in capacity over current state-of-the-art 4G cellular networks at current cell densities. Cellular systems, however, will need to be significantly redesigned to fully achieve these gains. Specifically, the requirement of highly directional and adaptive transmissions, directional isolation between links, and significant possibilities of outage have strong implications on multiple access, channel structure, synchronization, and receiver design. To address these challenges, the paper discusses how various technologies including adaptive beamforming, multihop relaying, heterogeneous network architectures, and carrier aggregation can be leveraged in the mmW context.

An Overview of Signal Processing Techniques for Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems

Abstract: Communication at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies is defining a new era of wireless communication. The mmWave band offers higher bandwidth communication channels versus those presently used in commercial wireless systems. The applications of mmWave are immense: wireless local and personal area networks in the unlicensed band, 5G cellular systems, not to mention vehicular area networks, ad hoc networks, and wearables. Signal processing is critical for enabling the next generation of mmWave communication. Due to the use of large antenna arrays at the transmitter and receiver, combined with radio frequency and mixed signal power constraints, new multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication signal processing techniques are needed. Because of the wide bandwidths, low complexity transceiver algorithms become important. There are opportunities to exploit techniques like compressed sensing for channel estimation and beamforming. This article provides an overview of signal processing challenges in mmWave wireless systems, with an emphasis on those faced by using MIMO communication at higher carrier frequencies.

Millimeter Wave Channel Modeling and Cellular Capacity Evaluation

Abstract: With the severe spectrum shortage in conventional cellular bands, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies between 30 and 300 GHz have been attracting growing attention as a possible candidate for next-generation micro- and picocellular wireless networks. The mmW bands offer orders of magnitude greater spectrum than current cellular allocations and enable very high-dimensional antenna arrays for further gains via beamforming and spatial multiplexing. This paper uses recent real-world measurements at 28 and 73 GHz in New York, NY, USA, to derive detailed spatial statistical models of the channels and uses these models to provide a realistic assessment of mmW micro- and picocellular networks in a dense urban deployment. Statistical models are derived for key channel parameters, including the path loss, number of spatial clusters, angular dispersion, and outage. It is found that, even in highly non-line-of-sight environments, strong signals can be detected 100-200 m from potential cell sites, potentially with multiple clusters to support spatial multiplexing. Moreover, a system simulation based on the models predicts that mmW systems can offer an order of magnitude increase in capacity over current state-of-the-art 4G cellular networks with no increase in cell density from current urban deployments.