Enhanced PAPR in OFDM without Deteriorating BER Performance

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is vastly used in wireless networks. Its superiority relies on the fact that information can be split in large amount of frequencies. Each frequency is called information subcarrier. OFDM exhibits excellent annotation in channel fades and interferers as only a few subcarriers can be affected and consequently a small part of the original data stream can be lost. Orthogonality between frequencies ensures better spectrum management and obviates the danger of intersymbol interference. However, an essential problem exists. OFDM systems have high peak to average power ratio. This implies large fluctuations in signal power, ending up in increasing complexity of ADCs and DACs. Also, power amplifiers must work in a larger linear dynamic region. In this paper we present two new techniques for reducing Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR), that can be added in any OFDM system and we compare them with other existing schemes.

Turbo Codes―A New PCCC Design

Coding techniques have always been a major area of scientific interest. Due to this interest, many coding schemes were invented. Eventually, their implementation in various systems contributed in the evolvement of Wireless Communications. A breakthrough was definitely Turbo coding. Particularly, the concept of joining two or more convolutional encoders in parallel (PCCC) or in serial (SCCC), along with the iterative decoding technique, literally raised the expectations of the anticipated BER performance. In fact, Concatenated Convolutional Codes clearly outperform convolutional codes. Moreover, various systems, either under development or either for future use, will have high standards. The previous systems should present exceptional tolerance of noise effects and consequently a low overall number of received errors. For this purpose a new PCCC design was developed. The system’s performance analysis, using an AWGN channel, showed better results for various iterations compared to other schemes such as typical PCCC, SCCC and finally a Convolutional encoder with a Viterbi decoder.

A/D Restrictions (Errors) in Ultra-Wideband Impulse Radios

Ultra-Wideband Impulse Radio (UWB-IR) technologies, although are relatively easy in transmission but they present difficulties in reception, in fact the reception of such waveform is a quite complicated matter. The main reason is that in fully digital receiver the received waveform must be sampled at a rate of several GHz. This paper focuses on the impact of the Analog to Digital (A/D) conversion stage that is used to sample the received waveform. More specifically we focus on the impact of the two main parameters that affect the performance of the Software Defined Radio (SDR) system. These parameters are the bit resolution and the time jittering. The influence of these parameters is deeply examined.

Development and Experimental Measurements of a Tunable Antenna

Modern telecommunication systems need to be equipped with antennas that are precisely tuned to more than one frequency in order to allow operation in several bands. Antenna precise tuning to the desired frequency is very important for system performance. In this paper the operating frequency of a PIFA antenna is adjusted using a varactor. This configuration has the advantage of continuous tuning, thus correcting any frequency deviation due to environmental or other changes. The PIFA antenna’s tuning ranges from 860 MHz to 1025 MHz. Also, the geometry of the antenna is studied through simulations and the effect of the varactor is tested experimentally.

Design and Measurements of Ultra-Wideband Antenna

This paper describes the design, realization and experimental measurements of an antenna element to operate at ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum. The type of this antenna is a circular disk monopole (CDM), with two notches opposite to each other at two sides of the disk. The feed of the antenna is a coplanar waveguide (CPW). The effect of the presence of the notches is studied through simulations and tested experimentally.

Reducing Peak-to-Average Power Ratio of a Turbo Coded OFDM

Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) is defined as the instantaneous power (maximum value) to the average power ratio. PAPR is considered to be a major problem in OFDM systems. This problem can cause radical unexpected behavior of the signal fluctuation. This fluctuation is constituted by a large number of power states. The enormous number of these states leads to an additional complexity of ADCs and DACs. This research addresses the previous problem in OFDM systems utilizing Turbo Codes. μLaCP technique is employed for the purpose of decreasing PAPR. Moreover, our OFDM system was simulated in the presence of an AWGN channel with four types of codes (without the presence of ADCs and DACs). These were constituted of PCCC (typical and new), SCCC, and Convolutional Codes. Our Turbo Coded OFDM exhibited unchanged BER performance before and after the use of μLaCP technique. This was accomplished by modifying our previous PAPR reduction technique without sacrificing greatly its attributes.

Turbo Coded OFDM with Large Number of Subcarriers

Wireless communication systems have greatly advanced during the last years. A significant contributor in these systems’ performance has been Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Since its invention, it is considered to be a technological leap. This leap in splitting an information stream in multiple frequency carriers has been adapted by various scientists working on the development of wireless systems. Moreover, as OFDM presented excellent tolerance of channel fading and noise signals, the evolvement in terms of speed and reliability was consequent, because only a small stream of information is lost due to noise effects. OFDM along with the knowledge that Turbo codes is another excellent scheme of reducing BER, has triggered us to expand our research. So, we experimented in simulation level not only in joining OFDM with Turbo Codes but even in finding a better Turbo scheme compared to a typical PCCC, SCCC and a Convolutional encoder with Viterbi decoder. As the last goal has already been accomplished, in this paper is presented the new OFDM system consisted of our Turbo scheme. The analysis of the previous system took into consideration the effects of an AWGN channel. Also, this noise analysis was conducted using a simulation platform with specific attributes such as transmitting and receiving fixed number of subcarriers (2048 carriers after IFFT block) while using different types of convolutional concatenated codes, such as PCCC (Parallel), SCCC (Serial) and the new PCCC scheme. The results clearly show not only the improvement in the BER performance of the Turbo Coded OFDM systems (compared to others consisted of Viterbi decoders) but the overall superiority of the proposed design.

Rainfall Measurements Due to Radio Frequency Signal Attenuation at 2 GHz

In this paper we present an experimental validated system for measuring rainfall due to radio frequency (RF) signal attenuation at 2 GHz. Measurements took place in Ioannina, NW Greece, starting in April 2015 and lasting for twelve months. The primary acquired extensive results have shown reliable and accurate measurements for rainfall amounts smaller than 1 mm for 5 min periods. The very important innovation is that this paper presents significant earth-to-earth measurements due to rainfall attenuation (at 2 GHz) in order to act as a map for future investigation and as a prior knowledge for the behavior of other systems operating at frequencies around S-band.