Ross David Murch

Multiuser OFDM with adaptive subcarrier, bit, and power allocation

Multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with adaptive multiuser subcarrier allocation and adaptive modulation is considered. Assuming knowledge of the instantaneous channel gains for all users, we propose a multiuser OFDM subcarrier, bit, and power allocation algorithm to minimize the total transmit power. This is done by assigning each user a set of subcarriers and by determining the number of bits and the transmit power level for each subcarrier. We obtain the performance of our proposed algorithm in a multiuser frequency selective fading environment for various time delay spread values and various numbers of users. The results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms multiuser OFDM systems with static time-division multiple access (TDMA) or frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) techniques which employ fixed and predetermined time-slot or subcarrier allocation schemes. We have also quantified the improvement in terms of the overall required transmit power, the bit-error rate (BER), or the area of coverage for a given outage probability.

A transmit preprocessing technique for multiuser MIMO systems using a decomposition approach

We introduce a transmit preprocessing technique for the downlink of multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. It decomposes the multiuser MIMO downlink channel into multiple parallel independent single-user MIMO downlink channels. Some key properties are that each equivalent single-user MIMO channel has the same properties as a conventional single-user MIMO channel, and that increasing the number of transmit antennas of the multiuser system by one increases the number of spatial channels to each user by one. Simulation results are also provided and these results demonstrate the potential of our technique in terms of performance and capacity.

Reduction of Mutual Coupling Between Closely-Packed Antenna Elements

A simple ground plane structure that can reduce mutual coupling between closely-packed antenna elements is proposed and studied. The structure consists of a slitted pattern, without vias, etched onto a single ground plane and it is therefore low cost and straightforward to fabricate. It is found that isolations of more than -20 dB can be achieved between two parallel individual planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs) sharing a common ground plane, with inter-antenna spacing (center to center) of 0.116 lambdao and ground plane size 0.331lambdao 2. At 2.31 GHz it is demonstrated that this translates into an edge to edge separation between antennas of just 10 mm. Similarly the structure can be applied to reduce mutual coupling between three or four radiating elements. In addition the mutual coupling between half wavelength patches and monopoles can also be reduced with the aid of the proposed ground plane structure. Results of parametric studies are also given in this paper. Both simulation and measurement results are used to confirm the suppression of mutual coupling between closely-packed antenna elements with our slitted ground plane.

A capacitively loaded PIFA for compact mobile telephone handsets

A capacitively loaded planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) is proposed and studied. It is found that the capacitive load reduces the resonance length of the PIFA from /spl lambda//4 to less than /spl lambda//S. A design with a bandwidth of 178 MHz centered at 1.8 GHz is provided to demonstrate that compact antennas for mobile telephone handsets can be constructed using this approach. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used in the study and experimental verification is also provided.

A compact PIFA suitable for dual-frequency 900/1800-MHz operation

Planar inverted F antennas (PIFA) have been proposed as possible candidates for mobile telephone handsets. We describe the design of a compact PIFA suitable for operation at 900 MHz. In addition, we provide modifications to this design that allow it to operate in dual-frequency bands at 300 and 1800 MHz. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and experimental results are provided.

Performance analysis of maximum likelihood detection in a MIMO antenna system

We provide an analysis of the performance of maximum likelihood detection (MLD) over flat fading channels in a wireless multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antenna system. A tight union bound with an asymptotic form on the probability of symbol error rate (SER) for MIMO MLD systems with two-dimensional signal constellations (such as QAM and PSK) is introduced. Using this analytic bound, the performance of the MIMO antenna system is demonstrated quantitatively with respect to channel estimation, constellation size, and antenna configuration.

Isolation Enhancement Between Two Closely Packed Antennas

This paper introduces a coupling element to enhance the isolation between two closely packed antennas operating at the same frequency band. The proposed structure consists of two antenna elements and a coupling element which is located in between the two antenna elements. The idea is to use field cancellation to enhance isolation by putting a coupling element which artificially creates an additional coupling path between the antenna elements. To validate the idea, a design for a USB dongle MIMO antenna for the 2.4 GHz WLAN band is presented. In this design, the antenna elements are etched on a compact low-cost FR4 PCB board with dimensions of 20times40times1.6 mm3. According to our measurement results, we can achieve more than 30 dB isolation between the antenna elements even though the two parallel individual planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) in the design share a solid ground plane with inter-antenna spacing (Center to Center) of less than 0.095 lambdao or edge to edge separations of just 3.6 mm (0.0294 lambdao). Both simulation and measurement results are used to confirm the antenna isolation and performance. The method can also be applied to different types of antennas such as non-planar antennas. Parametric studies and current distribution for the design are also included to show how to tune the structure and control the isolation.

Antenna systems for broadband wireless access

Broadband wireless access along with evolving mobile Internet and multimedia services are driving the surge of research and development activities for future wireless communication systems. We provide an overview of antenna systems for broadband wireless communications and introduce some of the important issues surrounding them. The approach we use is to first provide a general framework of how antenna systems may be utilized in wireless communication systems and then describe the antenna systems themselves. In particular, we consider antenna systems for the base station, mobile station, and then finally multiple-input multiple-output antenna systems where antenna systems are utilized at both the base and mobile stations.

A joint-channel diagonalization for multiuser MIMO antenna systems

In this paper, we address the problem of improving the performance of multiuser space-division multiplexing (SDM) systems where multiple independent signal streams can be transmitted in the same frequency and time slot. The problem is important in multiuser multiple-input multiple-output systems where communication from one base station to many mobile stations can occur simultaneously. Our objective is to devise a multiuser linear space-time precoder for simultaneous channel diagonalization of the multiuser channels enabling SDM. Our new approach is based on diagonalizing the multiuser channel matrices and we use a variation of successive Jacobi rotations. In addition to the diagonalization, our approach attempts to optimize the resultant channel gains for performance enhancement. Our method is valid for both frequency-flat and frequency-selective fading channels but we assume that the base station knows all the channels and that they are quasi-stationary.

Compact integrated diversity antenna for wireless communications

We introduce a compact integrated antenna that has two feed ports with more than 20 dB isolation between them. The significance of the design is that it can be utilized in compact wireless communication handsets to provide diversity signals or act as a duplexer allowing the receive and transmit signals to be well isolated. The antenna design is based on merging two patch antennas together in combination with capacitive loading so that a compact design can be obtained. Justification for the design is provided by considering the mutual coupling using the reaction principle and finite-dimensional time-domain (FDTD) simulations. Experimental results are also presented for a design that operates in the 2100-2200 MHz band for possible application in forthcoming third-generation wireless systems. Results include radiation patterns, S-parameters, and signal correlations between ports so that the diversity performance and isolation characteristics of the antenna can be demonstrated. These show that in typical wireless environments envelope cross correlations of less than 0.1 between the ports are obtained.