Showing papers on "Multipath propagation published in 1987"

A Statistical Model for Indoor Multipath Propagation

Abstract: The results of indoor multipath propagation measurements using 10 ns, 1.5 GHz, radarlike pulses are presented for a medium-size office building. The observed channel was very slowly time varying, with the delay spread extending over a range up to about 200 ns and rms values of up to about 50 ns. The attenuation varied over a 60 dB dynamic range. A simple statistical multipath model of the indoor radio channel is also presented, which fits our measurements well, and more importantly, appears to be extendable to other buildings. With this model, the received signal rays arrive in clusters. The rays have independent uniform phases, and independent Rayleigh amplitudes with variances that decay exponentially with cluster and ray delays. The clusters, and the rays within the cluster, form Poisson arrival processes with different, but fixed, rates. The clusters are formed by the building superstructure, while the individual rays are formed by objects in the vicinities of the transmitter and the receiver.

On the Capacity of Radio Communication Systems with Diversity in a Rayleigh Fading Environment

Abstract: In this paper, we study the fundamental limits on the data rate of multiple antenna systems in a Rayleigh fading environment. With M transmit and M receive antennas, up to M independent channels can be established in the same bandwidth. We study the distribution of the maximum data rate at a given error rate in the channels between up to M transmit antennas and M receive antennas and determine the outage probability for systems that use various signal processing techniques. We analyze the performance of the optimum linear and nonlinear receiver processor and the optimum linear transmitter/receiver processor pair, and the capacity of these channels. Results show that with optimum linear processing at the receiver, up to M/2 channels can be established with approximately the same maximum data rate as a single channel. With either nonlinear processing at the receiver or optimum linear transmitter/receiver processing, up to M channels can be established with approximately the same maximum data rate as a single channel. Results show the potential for large capacity in systems with limited bandwidth.

Distributed Antennas for Indoor Radio Communications

Abstract: The idea of implementing an indoor radio communications system serving an entire building from a single central antenna appears to be an attractive proposition. However, based on various indoor propagation measurements of the signal attenuation and the multipath delay spread, such a centralized approach appears to be limited to small buildings and to narrow-band FDMA-type systems with limited reliability and flexibility. In this paper, we present the results of indoor radio propagation measurements of two signal distribution approaches that improve the picture dramatically. In the first, the building is divided into many small cells, each served from an antenna located in its own center, and with adjacent cells operating in different frequency bands. In the second approach, the building is divided into one or more large cells, each served from a distributed antenna system or a "leaky feeder" that winds its way through the hallways. This approach eliminates the frequency cell handoff problem that is bound to exist in the first approach, while still preserving the dramatic reductions in multipath delay spread and signal attenuation compared to a centralized system. For example, the measurements show that, with either approach, the signal attenuation can be reduced by as much as a few tens of decibels and the rms delay spread becomes limited to 20 to 50 us, even in large buildings. This can make possible the implementation of sophisticated broad-band TDMA-type systems that are flexible, robust, and virtually building-independent.

The Effects of Time Delay Spread on Portable Radio Communications Channels with Digital Modulation

Abstract: Frequency-selective fading caused by multipath time delay spread degrades digital communication channels by causing intersymbol interference, thus resulting in an irreducible BER and imposing a upper limit on the data symbol rate. In this paper, a frequencyselective, slowly fading channel is studied by computer simulation. The unfiltered BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK, and MSK modulations are considered first to illustrate the physical insights and the error mechanisms. Two classes of modulation with spectral-shaping filtering are studied next to assess the tradeoff between spectral occupancy and the performance under the influence of time delay spread. The simulation is very flexible so that different channel parameters can be studied and optimized either individually or collectively. The irreducible BER averaged over fading samples with a given delay profile is used to compare different modulation/detection methods, while the cumulative distribution of short-term BER is employed to show allowable data symbol rates for given values of delay spread. It is found that both GMSK and QPSK with a raised-cosine Nyquist pulse are suitable for a TDM/TDMA digital portable communications channel.

Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum with DPSK Modulation and Diversity for Indoor Wireless Communications

Abstract: Direct-sequence spread spectrum with differential phase shift-keying (DPSK) modulation and code-division multiple-access is a promising approach for wireless communications in an indoor environment, which is characterized in this paper by a Rayleigh-fading multipath channel. In this study, we consider two specific channel models having different path-delay distributions and average path power profiles. A star configuration, in which each user exercises average power control in transmitting to a central station, is the basic communication unit, which could be one cell in a cellular hierarchy. We obtain the performance of a single link between a user and its receiver in the central station, and consider two types of diversity, selection diversity and predetection combining to exploit the multipath. A similar system with coherent PSK (CPSK) modulation has been studied previously for one of the channel models considered here. For the same channel model, we show that the irreducible error probability with selection diversity is about half an order of magnitude higher when DPSK is used instead of CPSK. With predetection combining, the performance improves significantly in comparison with selection diversity as the diversity order increases. DPSK modulation with predetection combining is akin to coherent PSK with optimal maximal-ratio combining, but is simpler to implement. The performance with selection diversity for a second channel model, which is based on measurements in an office building, is not significantly different. This indicates that the spreadspectrum approach is rather robust to the path-delay distribution and average path-power profile.

Performance Analysis of a Built-In Planar Inverted F Antenna for 800 MHz Band Portable Radio Units

Abstract: The pattern averaging gain (PAG) method to estimate the average gain of mobile antennas in a multipath propagation environment is proposed. By using this method and a wire-grid model, the radiation characteristics of the planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) mounted on a portable radio case is analyzed. In particular, the variation of the antenna gain with the radio case dimensions and inclination angle of the radio case during operation is clarified. Also, the effect on antenna patterns of the operator holding the portable radio is experimentally investigated. Based on this analysis, the antenna configuration with the PIFA element mounted on the lateral side of the radio case is found to be most suitable for portable radio units. In addition, an appropriate selection of the radio case dimensions is found to result in further improvements in the antenna bandwidth.

Mobile digital communications via tone calibration

Abstract: A new digital signaling technique that is particularly suited for channels impaired by multipath fading is presented. The proposed modulation scheme employs a continuous-wave (CW) tone to calibrate the mobile channel against the multipath-induced phase uncertainties. This technique is applicable to quaternary phase shift keying as well as to more complicated signal constellations such as M-ary phase shift keyed schemes. The advantages of tone calibration are: 1) robustness of the receiver and 2) elimination of the link dependent error floor. Furthermore, since the CW tone can also be used for coherent signal demodulation, carrier phase acquisition can be achieved within a bit time. This property is particularly attractive when a burst of data with a short burst length has to be detected. This radio technique is useful for both the terrestrial mobile and the newer satellite-aided mobile communication (SAMC) services.

Multipath Diversity Reception of Spread-Spectrum Multiple-Access Communications

Abstract: The analysis of a multipath-combining receiver for directsequence spread-spectrum communications through a specular multipath channel is developed. The analysis applies to systems that use quadriphase-shift-keyed, offset quadriphase-shift-keyed, minimum-shiftkeyed, or binary phase-shift-keyed modulation. The measures of performance are the signal-to-noise ratio and approximations to the error probability involving the signal-to-noise ratio. The performance of a multipath-combining receiver is determined not only for the case of a single transmitter, but also for the case of multiple interfering transmit, ters. Furthermore, the performance of the system is determined in terms of parameters of the signature sequences. These parameters can be used as guides in selecting signature sequences for the system. Results are also given for the case of randomly generated signature sequences.

Cellular Efficiency with Slow Frequency Hopping: Analysis of the Digital SFH900 Mobile System

Abstract: The new digital cellular SFH900 mobile system, based on "mixed" slow frequency hopping (SFH) combined with time division, is described in detail. The system includes Viterbi quasi-coherent demodulation of GMSK for which performance measurements in multipath conditions are presented. A concatenated coding scheme that takes full benefit of built-in frequency diversity and interference diversity is introduced. A model for SFH cellular performance evaluation is presented and the quality-versus-capacity tradeoff for SFH900 is given for various frequency reuse patterns. With advanced 16 kbit/s speech coding techniques, and including a 25 percent overhead for management and signaling, the spectrum efficiency of a many-celled SFH900 network is around 3.5 users/cell/MHz, a significant increase in comparison to conventional analog systems. SFH provides intrinsic adaptability to varying traffic conditions and enhanced flexibility for multiservice operation. The SFH900 principles, which have been recently validated through field tests, are very promising for second generation cellular systems.

An adaptive array utilizing an adaptive spatial averaging technique for multipath environments

Abstract: When the interference is coherent with the desired signal, the conventional adaptive arrays working under the guiding principle of output power minimization tend to cancel the desired signal by using the coherent interference. A technique is described which enables the adaptive array to function even under such an environment. The array is divided into subarrays, whose input correlation matrices are adaptively averaged so as to produce a Toeplitz matrix which would be obtained when the interference did not correlate with the desired signal. The averaged matrix is now free from correlation terms between the desired signal and interference, and therefore may be used to derive the optimum weight for the array element just as in the ordinary radio environment of incoherent interference. Numerical examples show that the new adaptive array is highly capable to suppress the coherent interferences as well as incoherent ones.

Measurements and models of a land mobile satellite channel and their applications to MSK signals

Abstract: The fading and shadowing effects observed on land mobile satellite signals are characterized in statistical terms. Models are developed in terms of probability distribution of the signal's envelope and phase as well as its rate of change with time. The multipath fading and shadowing effects modelled are typical of those encountered in a mobile-satellite link in rural and suburban areas. A comparison of the models with experimental data at 870 MHz and 1542 MHz is given. Applications of the models to predict performance of a minimum shift keying (MSK) signal at 2400 bits/s show that large margins are required to compensate for the effects of fading and shadowing. In addition, the results show that conventional coherent demodulation of a MSK signal may not be feasible due to phase variation caused by fading and shadowing. On the other hand, the results show that random FM has negligible effect on the probability of error of the MSK signal at 2400 bits/s when frequency demodulation is used.

Improved Prony algorithm to identify multipath components

Abstract: An improved Prony algorithm, code-named SVDP (singular value decomposition Prony), is proposed for identifying discrete multipath components. The new technique has been applied to data obtained from both laboratory and field experiments. The superiority of the algorithm in determining the number of rays present, and also in resolving close rays, is demonstrated.

An LMS Adaptive Array for Multipath Fading Reduction

Abstract: Multipath fading often poses a serious hindrance in radiocommunication. The application of a least-mean-square (LMS)adaptive array to the problem of multipath fading reduction is discussed. However, it is known that multipath components are in general correlated with one another. We examine the effect of the correlation on the performance of the LMS adaptive array. When the correlation coefficient does not equal or approximate 1, the LMS adaptive array suppresses the multipath signals significantly by nulling. On the other hand, when the correlation coefficient nearly equals 1, the LMS adaptive array prevents the output signalpower from decreasing. Therefore, the LMS adaptive array mayreduce the multipath fading effectively for any correlation coefficient value. A reference signal in the LMS adaptive array is also discussed. It is shown that synchronization in the referencesignal generation must be extremely accurate. Moreover, aprocessor configuration is proposed which may generate thereference signal with the required accuracy.

Multipath delay spread in a hilly region at 210 MHz

Abstract: Investigations of multipath propagation in hilly terrain show that the delay spread between the first and the last significant path may be greater than 30μs. The method of measurement is described, and the propagation conditions are illustrated by representative examples.

The Maritime Satellite Communication Channel--Channel Model, Performance of Modulation and Coding

Abstract: Towards the year 2000, maritime satellite communications using the INMARSAT system will employ a second and third generation of satellites and new ship earth stations (SES). The new SES standards will use very small antennas with gains between 0 and 15 dBi. At the lower end of SES there will be no antenna stabilization. The communication channel for such small stations is described by a model including multipath fading, Doppler shift, and noise. The results of an extensive measurement program were used to determine the parameters of the channel model, which depend on antenna type and elevation angle. Analytical calculations as well as synthetic and stored channel hardware simulations have been used to determine the performance of several modulation schemes. A complete data link using PSK modems with AFC/Costas loop, interleaving, and FEC codecs at 1.2 kbits/s was built up around a hardware maritime channel simulator, to study the performance of data transmission on the small SES maritime channel. Theoretical and measured results are given for interleaved Viterbi decoding with channel state information and Reed-Solomon codes. The measurements show that with interleaved FEC schemes, the required E_{b}/N_{o} for a BER 10-5is in the range of 9-15 dB and the effects of multipath fading are almost compensated for.

Correction to "Design and Experimental Results for a Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum Radio Using Differential Phase-Shift Keying Modulation for Indoor, Wireless Communications"

Abstract: We report on our design and measurements that have been made for a direct-sequence spread-spectrum radio using differential phase-shift keying modulation for a wireless PBX. We describe the design and implementation of a transmitter and a receiver using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter matching the spread-spectrum code of a user. The receiver performance is within 1 dB of the theoretical performance of a differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) receiver in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise. We also show receiver performance in a multipath fading indoor environment with multipath fade notches of up to 50 dB depth. The indoor channel multipath fading can be overcome by using an equal gain diversity combiner which is suitable when DPSK modulation is used. We confirm that the indoor mean power level attenuation follows the inverse fourth power of the distance. Also, we investigate the multiple-access capability of the system by introducing an interfering transmitter with a different spread-spectrum code sequence.

The effects of multipath delay spread on timing recovery

Abstract: Equations for the recovered timing for a squaring timing recovery circuit under multipath radio propagation are derived. Both coherent and differential detections are studied. If delay spread is much smaller than the symbol duration, the recovered timing can be approximated by the centroid of the power delay profile, p(t). Two cases of timing loop bandwidth are considered. If the fading frequency is much lower than the bandwidth of the timing loop, the instantaneous sample of p(t) is used to generate the timing clock. If the fading frequency is much higher than the loop bandwidth, the ensemble average of p(t) over fading samples is used to recover the timing. A computer simulation is performed for a system operating in a frequency-selective, slowly fading environment. It is found that for root mean square (rms) delay spread less than or equal to 0.1 of the symbol duration, a squaring timing loop with either narrow or wide bandwidth can properly determine the timing detection. The main mechanism of the "irreducible bit error rate" in this case is the closure of the eye-pattern instead of timing error.

A Novel Anti-Multipath Modulation Technique DSK

Abstract: This paper describes a new modulation technique called DSK (double phase-shift keying) which shows an interesting antimultipath feature over mobile frequency-selective fading environments. The effect of this technique is shown for various multipath channels by detection waveform and theoretical bit error rate (BER) analyses. A result obtained from a laboratory test is also presented. In the latter part of the paper, a generalized form of DSK is described and extensive investigations are made so as to clarify the anti-multipath effect of DSK in view of the diversity concept and to further explore the possibility of a narrowband scheme. A major result shows that this technique can give a kind of diversity effect which is implicit in the arrival of signals via multiple paths with different delays.

On the Adaptive Array Problem

Abstract: By an array we mean a set of coupled sensors, typically antenna elements. The array receives superimposed signals from distant sources. By combining the outputs of the sensors in different ways, one can change the array sensitivity to different Directions-of-Arrival (DOA). It is thus possible to let some signals pass through while reflecting others. In this thesis we discuss the problem of separating a desired signal that is superimposed with undesired jamming signals and noise.The optimal SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) is given special attention. We include a discussion on what happens in a slowly time varying multipath environment.The proposed methods are especially designed for radio communication system. We study three possibilites of separating between the received signals. These are; Methods using a reference signal, The case of known look direction and Time gated systems. We also include computer simulations to test the methods.

Performance of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation for Indoor Radio Communications

Abstract: The performance of M -QAM for indoor radio communications is evaluated via a realistic model for indoor multipath propagation [1]. It is found that the outage (BER < 10-4) is about 0.3 percent at 1 Mbit/s and 20 percent at 4 Mbits/s. Two-antenna predetection diversity reduces the outage from 1.2 to 0.04 percent at 2 Mbits/s. Increasing the signaling pulse rolloff factor from 0.5 to 1.0 reduces the outage by not more than 35 percent.

Multipath Time Delay Jitter Measured at 850 MHz in the Portable Radio Environment

Abstract: Time delay jitter in digital personal communications systems, caused by moving the antenna by a few wavelengths, was studied at two office buildings and two residences at a frequency of 850 MHz. A wide-band pseudonoice code technique was used. The results indicate that peak-to-peak time delay, variations on the order of 375 ns may be encountered. The worst case jitter was not necessarily found when there was a large time delay spread. It was also found that the excess mean delay and the root mean-square (rms) time delay spread of the delay distribution profiles were approximately the same.

Using Times-Four Carrier Recovery in M-QAM Digital Radio Receivers

Abstract: We have investigated the performance of the times-four method of carrier recovery in a digital radio link transmitting M -level quadrature amplitude modulation ( M -QAM), where M can be 16, 64, 256, etc.. With the help of a recently built multipath fade simulator, we measured rms phase jitter for various combinations of fade notch frequency and fade depth. This paper reports on the experiment and the associated analysis. The times-four method has the virtues that it does not depend upon accurate data decisions, and it does not interact with the receiver's adaptive equalizer. Our results show that the rms phase jitter using this method, for all but the most severe and improbable fades, could be held to a few degrees. Although the measurements were done only for 16 QAM, the analysis predicts only modest increases for higher numbers of levels. The analysis also predicts, and the measurements verify, that the recovered carrier amplitude shrinks to zero for four distinct combinations of fade notch frequency and fade depth. To our knowledge, this phenomenon has not been reported in the literature heretofore. We show that, from a statistical viewpoint, the damage associated with it (measured in terms of outage time) should be quite small.

Radio direction-finding using time of arrival measurements

Abstract: A method and a system for radio direction-finding by measuring the Time of Arrival (ToA) of the leading edge of signals from a distant source at two relatively closely spaced receiving elements In order to give a good degree of immunity to multipath, the times at which the instantaneous detected amplitudes of the received signals first exceed a minimal threshold value such that received signals can be satisfactorily distinguished from noise is measured in such a manner that the measured time is not affected by multipath which involves more than a few metres additional path length for the indirect, delayed signal A suitable timing circuit is disclosed By making ToA measurements on three coplanar, non-collinear receivers, directions of incidence in three dimensions can be determined A method and a system using both ToA and phase-difference measurements can provide the accuracy of interferometry but be simpler and cheaper

Characterizing the Multipath and Doppler Spreads of the High-Latitude Meteor Burst Communication Channel

Abstract: High-latitude propagation phenomena, such as scatter from the aurora and sporadic- E propagation, can alter the communication characteristics of the meteor communication channel. This paper describes an experiment in which the fading and multipath profiles of the high-latitude meteor communication channel were characterized. The effects of high-latitude propagation phenomena on the capacity and reliability of meteor burst communication are discussed.

An IF Cross-Pol Canceller for Microwave Radio Systems

Abstract: This paper discusses cross-pol cancellation for microwave radio system applications. A model for cross-pol interference coupling during multipath fades is postulated and some preliminary performance goals are presented. A design for an IF canceller consisting of cross-coupled adaptive tapped delay lines and a digital controller is presented and discussed. Predicted canceller performance as a function of tap spacing and number is discussed and compared to measured data. The design of a two-channel, dual-polarized lab fade simulator is presented, and methods to characterize canceller performance and fade parameters are also briefly discussed.

Maximum likelihood estimation via the alternating projection maximization algorithm

Abstract: We present a novel and efficient algorithm for computing the maximum likelihood estimator of the locations of multiple sources in passive sensor arrays. The algorithm is equally well applicable to the case of fully correlated signals appearing, for example, in multipath propagation problems. Simulation results that demonstrate the performance of the algorithm and a detailed analysis of the uniqueness of the solution are included.

Adaptive equalization in TDMA mobile radio systems

Abstract: Digital transmission on a mobile radio channel requires sophisticated adaptive reception techniques. Two classes of non-linear adaptive equalization structures are studied in the present paper: the Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) and the Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE). A coherently detected GMSK modulation has been assumed, with a 300 kb/s bit rate in a TDMA frame structure. Simulation results are presented with different kinds of static or dynamic multipath patterns. The results show that acceptable performance around the threshold objective of BER = 1% can be achieved without excessive complexity with both schemes. A further benefit will be provided by the use of FEC coding not considered here. At this point a direct comparison between the two structures may not be fair, because optimization work has not yet been completed to put both of them in optimal operating conditions.

Analysis of Signal Cancellation Due To Multipath in Optimum Beamformers for Moving Arrays

Abstract: In this paper, we study the effect of array motion on signal cancellation and interference rejection in optimum beamformers in the presence of multipath with partially or fully correlated sources. First, we show how array motion causes signal decorrelation with a rate that depends on the spacing and directions of the sources. Next, we briefly discuss the signal cancellation and interference rejection behavior of the optimum beamformer in the presence of a correlated interference to motivate the need to decorrelate the desired source from the interference. We then propose an optimally weighted covariance averaging technique to ensure perfect decorrelation of the sources for any given displacement. Computer plots and simulation results are included to support our analysis.

A Modified Adaptive FIR Equalizer for Multipath Echo Cancellation in FM Transmission

Abstract: Multipath propagation is a severe problem in conventional FM broadcasting since this phenomenon causes nonlinear distortions after demodulation. Several proposals for the correction of multipath corrupted FM signals were given in some recent papers, but up to now there exist no satisfactory solutions with sufficiently low hardware complexity for commercial application. The main idea of the present paper is to take advantage of some a priori knowledge of the multipath transfer function with the goal to develop a nonrecursive equalizer structure with minimum hardware expense. For adaptive adjustment of the equalizer, we use a recently introduced constant modulus algorithm (CMA) in a modified form. Instead of direct coefficient adjustment, we regard the parameters of the transmission channel as unknowns which are updated adaptively. The equalizer coefficients are uniquely defined by the channel parameters and can be determined in one step. The advantage of this method is a large improvement of the convergence behavior in comparison to existing solutions. The methods presented here are tested by means of an FM hardware system including FM transmitter, multipath simulation, FM demodulator, and an FIR multipath equalizer, which allows real-time investigations of the equalizer performance under well-defined multipath conditions.