Cramer–Rao bound based mean‐squared error and throughput analysis of superimposed pilots for semi‐blind multiple‐input multiple‐output wireless channel estimation

This work presents a study of the mean‐squared error (MSE) and throughput performance of superimposed pilots (SP) for the estimation of a multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) wireless channel. The Cramer–Rao bound (CRB) is derived for SP based estimation of the MIMO channel matrix. Employing the CRB analysis, it is proved that the asymptotic MSE bound is potentially 3 dB lower than the MSE performance of the existing SP mean based estimation (SPME) schemes. Motivated by this observation, a novel SP semi‐blind scheme is presented for MIMO channel estimation. This scheme asymptotically achieves the CRB and hence has a lower MSE of estimation when compared with SPME schemes. We also derive closed form expressions for the optimal source‐pilot power allocation in SP by maximizing the post‐processing signal‐to‐noise power ratio at the receiver. In the final part, a new result is presented for the worst‐case capacity of a communication channel with correlated information symbols and noise. This framework is employed to quantify the throughput performance of SP and also to demonstrate the bandwidth efficiency of SP compared with that of a conventional pilot based system. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A model for the estimation of the carrier‐to‐noise plus total interference ratio between two adjacent dual polarized satellite links sharing the same frequency band

In modern satellite communications, matters such as frequency congestion, transmission of dual polarized carriers and increase of the number of geostationary satellites in use, necessitate the implementation of interference analysis in neighbouring networks so as to ensure satisfactory quality of service. In this paper, a recently proposed model for the prediction of the degradation of the carrier‐to‐interference ratio due to differential rain attenuation and cross‐polarization, which is applicable only for the noise‐dominant case, has been properly modified to include the general case. The proposed model is based on the lognormal assumption for the point rainfall rate statistics and the convective raincell model. Due to complexity of the proposed analysis, some simple regression‐derived formulas have been generated forming a very useful tool for the system engineer. The elaborations of numerical results examine the influence of various parameters upon the total availability performance and the optimum utilization of the geostationary orbit. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dual‐polarized MIMO antenna system for WiFi and LTE wireless access point applications

In this paper, a dual‐polarized multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna system suitable for indoor wireless access point is proposed. The presented MIMO antenna system consists of two coplanar‐waveguide‐fed monopole antennas with orthogonally polarized modes. According to the closely spaced structure of the MIMO antenna system, the mutual coupling between the ports is a big challenge. Therefore, a new structure of parasitic element is introduced in order to improve the mutual coupling between the ports. For the purpose of validating the simulated results, the antenna prototype has been fabricated and measured; the comparison of the results shows that there is an acceptable agreement between the measurement and simulation results. The proposed design covers the frequency bands of WiFi (2.4 GHz), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (2.3 and 2.5 GHz), and Long‐Term Evolution (LTE; 1.5 and 2.6 GHz) applications with a reflection coefficient less than −10 dB and a mutual coupling coefficient better than −15 dB. The MIMO antenna system provides an envelope correlation coefficient less than 0.15, polarization diversity gain more than 9.985 dB, and quasi‐omnidirectional pattern within the expected frequency band. In addition, LTE downlink throughput measurements show that the proposed antenna system delivers data rates close to the theoretical maximum for quadrature phase shift keying, 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), and 64‐QAM modulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Achievable rate region with secrecy constraints for secure communication in two‐way relay networks

In this paper, we consider a two‐way relay network consisted of two sources and multiple relays in the presence of an eavesdropper, where the cooperative beamforming strategy is applied to exploit the cooperative diversity to support the secure communication as illustrated in Figure 1. Naturally, we are interested in the beamforming strategy and power allocation to maximize the achievable sum secrecy rate. However, the corresponding problem is equivalent to solve a product of three correlated generalized Rayleigh quotients problem and difficult to solve in general. Because of the openness of wireless medium, the information rate leakage to the eavesdropper cannot be canceled perfectly. To some extent, ‘almost perfect secrecy’, where the rate leakage to the eavesdropper is limited, is more interesting from the practical point of view. In this case, we concern ourself mainly the achievable rate region for general case where the rate at the eavesdropper is regarded as the measurement of secrecy level. Two beamforming approaches, optimal beamforming and null space beamforming, are applied to investigate the achievable rate region with total power constraint and the rate constraint at the eavesdropper, which can be obtained by solving a sequence of the weighted sum inverse‐signal‐to‐noise‐ratio minimization (WSISM) problem. Because of the non‐convexity of WSISM problem, an alternating iteration algorithm is proposed to optimize the relay beamforming vector and two sources' transmit power, where two subproblems need to be solved in each iteration. Meanwhile, we provide the convergence analysis of proposed algorithm. Through the numerical simulations, we verify the effectiveness of proposed algorithm. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel MAC protocol for IDMA‐based multi‐beam satellite communication systems

Considering the limitations of satellite communication systems and advantages of new emerging interleave‐division multiple access (IDMA) technology, IDMA is introduced into the satellite systems, providing a new solution for multiple access techniques of satellite systems. To further validate the IDMA into satellite systems, a novel medium access control (MAC) scheme is proposed. In the random access channel, the interleave‐division slotted ALOHA method is adopted to alleviate the collision of access requests. Furthermore, a novel minimum power allocation scheme based on signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio (SINR) evolution is proposed to maximize the capacity of such an interference‐sensitive system. By virtue of SINR evolution, our proposed scheme can accurately estimate multi‐user detection efficiency with low computational cost and further reduce the transmitted power, illustrating the high power efficiency of IDMA. To further enhance the performance of the MAC protocol, an effective call admission control scheme considering the effect of power control error is designed and combined into our MAC protocol. Analysis and simulation results show that, by taking full advantage of the chip‐by‐chip multi‐user detection technique, the proposed IDMA MAC protocol achieves high throughput and low average packet delay simultaneously, with low onboard processing complexity in the multi‐beam satellite communication systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of adaptive limited feedback coordinated zero‐forcing multicell systems in time‐varying channels: A practical approach

In this paper, coordinated limited feedback zero‐forcing beamforming multicell system in time‐varying channel is studied. In time‐varying channels, the actual rate loss arising from error in channel quantization of both interuser and intercell inferences is quantified in this work. Using the actual degradation of rate loss, a limited feedback bit allocation is proposed to reduce interuser and intercell interference simultaneously with feedback update period as one of the parameters. Furthermore, the scaling law of bits required to maintain a constant rate loss is formulated in varying channel conditions for a given feedback update period. Simulation results demonstrated the practical feedback requirement in multicell systems in the presence of both intercell and interuser interference over conventional schemes to maintain a constant rate offset. The key finding from the proposed feedback allocation is that practically much higher allocation of feedback bits and feedback scaling are required in time‐varying channels to reduce throughput degradation.     

Effect of Antenna Aperture Field on Co‐channel Interference,Capacity, and Payload Mass in High Altitude Platform Communications

In a High Altitude Platform (HAP) cellular communications network, each cell may be served by a dedicated spot‐beam antenna. The antennas’ beam properties and their spatial overlap control the co‐channel interference. In prior literature, radiation patterns have been approximated by a main lobe followed by a constant sidelobe floor. A network of 121 cells has been studied and the method is here extended to the use of more realistic radiation patterns based on the theoretical aperture antenna patterns. This allows for the comparison of the effect of different aperture field tapers, which lead to reduced sidelobe levels and hence higher system capacity but also a more massive antenna payload.     

Examination of the data rate obtainable with low‐gain non‐tracking antenna applied to user terminal used for mobile communications and broadcasting services provided by quasi‐zenithal satellites

Link budgets between the mobile user terminal and a feeder link station (2‐m‐diameter antenna) through the quasi‐zenithal satellite system (QZSS) (7‐m‐diameter antenna for Tx, 5‐m‐diameter antenna for Rx) under the power flux density (PFD) limit were calculated for the Ka‐ and Ku‐band. The PFD limit for non‐geostationary satellites is applied for frequency sharing between QZSS and geostationary satellites. The maximum data rate in the Ka‐band was 1.7 times higher than in the Ku‐band in the forward link, while the maximum data rate at Ku‐band is nine times higher than that in the Ka‐band in the return link when the transmit power derived from the regulations of the PFD is applied. And it is more than three times higher than that in the Ka‐band when transmit power is fixed to 2W. In the forward link, maximum data rates are 149 kbps in the Ka‐band and 86 kbps in the Ku‐band when the user terminal antenna is non‐tracking (gain at the satellite direction is 7.1 dBi) and the frequency bandwidth per beam is 30 MHz. Required bandwidth per channel for a certain data rate is large, e.g. in Ka‐band, 20.9 MHz for 64 kbps, 125 MHz for 384 kbps, and 326 MHz for 1 Mbps. In the return link, the maximum data rates are 44 kbps in the Ku‐band and 13.6 kbps in the Ka‐band when the user terminal antenna gain in the satellite direction is 7.1 dBi and transmit power is 2 W. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing a method and simulation model for evaluating the overall energy performance of a ventilated semi‐transparent photovoltaic double‐skin facade

A comprehensive simulation model has been developed in this paper to simulate the overall energy performance of an amorphous silicon (a‐Si) based photovoltaic double‐skin facade (PV‐DSF). The methodology and the model simulation procedure are presented in detail. To simulate the overall energy performance, the airflow network model, daylighting model, and the Sandia Array Performance Model in the EnergyPlus software were adopted to simultaneously simulate the thermal, daylighting, and dynamic power output performances of the PV‐DSF. The interaction effects between thermal, daylighting, and the power output performances of the PV‐DSF were reasonably well modeled by coupling the energy generation, heat‐transfer, and optical models. Simulation results were compared with measured data from an outdoor test facility in Hong Kong in which the PV‐DSF performance was measured. The model validation work showed that most of the simulated results agreed very well with the measured data except for a modest overestimation of heat gains in the afternoons. In particular, the root‐mean‐square error between the simulated monthly AC energy output and the measured quantity was only 2.47%. The validation results indicate that the simulation model developed in this study can accurately simulate the overall energy performance of the semi‐transparent PV‐DSF. This model can, therefore, be an effective tool for carrying out optimum design and sensitivity analyses for PV‐DSFs in different climate zones. The methodology developed in this paper also provides a useful reference and starting point for the modeling of other kinds of semi‐transparent thin‐film PV windows or facades. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A two‐stage receiver with soft interference cancellation for space–time block code and spatial multiplexing combined systems

This paper presents a new space–time two‐stage receiver with the assistance of soft information for the Alamouti space–time block code (STBC) and spatially multiplexing (SM) combined multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) systems, which possess both the advantages of high diversity gain and high data rates to entail the next generation wireless communication systems. The first stage of the receiver, utilizing the inherent structure of the STBC, consists of a bank of soft generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC)‐based detectors, each for every STBC block, and intends to yield a more precise initial estimate of the transmitted symbols. In the second stage, the groupwise detection is conducted successively by using the matched filters (MFs) to simultaneously detect the two consecutive symbols in one STBC block with the removal of the soft interferences in between. Since the interferences have been faithfully reproduced and thoroughly annihilated, the new receiver can yield accurate symbol detection even with simple MFs. Moreover, some extreme cases regarding the soft information employed in the new receiver and its extension to the multiuser (MU) MIMO downlink are addressed as well. Conducted simulations show that the developed receiver, with modest computational load, can provide superior performance compared with pervious works, especially in the MU MIMO downlink. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A tradeoff resource allocation based on MF‐TDMA scheme in the multibeam data relay satellite systems

A tremendous increase in the number of distributed satellite constellations with the unscheduled burst data traffic will impose addition and diverse requirements on the DRS (data relay satellite) systems, which increases the complexity for beam management and affects a real‐time data return and acquisition. In this paper, we suggested that a large capacity can be achieved by a multibeam DRS system based on multifrequency time division multiple access scheme providing multiaccess for the distributed satellite constellations. Because the space‐based information network is characterized by the limited on‐board resources, a highly dynamic topology and time‐varying intersatellite links, we designed a 2‐stage dynamic optimization approach to separate the multiobjective optimization for frequency/time blocks and power, aiming at the rapidly converging to the optimal solution and at the same time meeting the fairness resource allocation. In particular, a capacity‐fairness tradeoff algorithm is proposed based on hybrid the enhanced genetic algorithm and the particle swarm optimization. Simulation results show that the tradeoff between maximizing total capacity and providing proportional fairness allocation is well balanced. The proposed algorithm can rapidly converge to adapt to the highly dynamic topology in data relay satellite systems.     

Performance analysis of uplink spatial multiplexing MIMO MT‐CDMA over multipath fading channels

In this paper, we consider multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) multi‐tone code division multiple access (MT‐CDMA) uplink transmission over multipath fading channels. The zero‐forcing vertical Bell Laboratories layered space‐time architecture (ZF V‐BLAST) algorithm and maximum ratio combining scheme are applied at the receiver. The average bit error rate (BER) expression is derived provided that the number of receive antennas is not less than that of transmit antennas. The BER expression is verified by simulations. Numerical results show that the numbers of transmit and receive antennas have significant effects on the BER performance of the considered system. Spatial and path diversity show different capabilities to improve the BER performance. The MIMO MT‐CDMA system based on the ZF V‐BLAST algorithm is capable of achieving a better BER performance and a higher capacity than the conventional MT‐CDMA system. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new design approach for dual‐band patch antenna serving Ku/K band satellite communications

A printed planar antenna with simple and intelligent geometrical structure has been proposed for Ku/K band satellite communication systems. The radiating patch of the antenna is formed by cutting rectangular slots and extending the radiating element to some extent. The final design of the antenna with optimized parameters is fabricated on ceramic–polytetrafluoroethylene substrate materials of dielectric constant ε_r = 10.2. The antenna is excited through a microstrip feed line and has reduced ground plane that covers only the non‐radiating portion of the antenna. The reduced complexity of the antenna is easy to fabricate and has overall dimension of 40 × 35 × 1.905 mm³. The results from experimental analysis show that the proposed antenna can guarantee a wide bandwidth of 12.0 to 16.4 GHz at lower band, and the upper band covers the frequency in the range of 17.53 to 19.5 GHz. The antenna has achieved appreciable gain in the range of 3.14 to 4.68 dBi for lower band and 2.03 to 3.65 dBi for upper band. The proposed antenna has offered almost symmetrical and directional radiation pattern that is essentially suitable for serving Ku/K band satellite applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstruction of chaotic signals with application to channel equalization in chaos‐based communication systems

A number of schemes have been proposed for communication using chaos over the past years. Regardless of the exact modulation method used, the transmitted signal must go through a physical channel which undesirably introduces distortion to the signal and adds noise to it. The problem is particularly serious when coherent‐based demodulation is used because the necessary process of chaos synchronization is difficult to implement in practice. This paper addresses the channel distortion problem and proposes a technique for channel equalization in chaos‐based communication systems. The proposed equalization is realized by a modified recurrent neural network (RNN) incorporating a specific training (equalizing) algorithm. Computer simulations are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed equalizer in chaos‐based communication systems. The Hénon map and Chua's circuit are used to generate chaotic signals. It is shown that the proposed RNN‐based equalizer outperforms conventional equalizers as well as those based on feedforward neural networks for noisy, distorted linear and non‐linear channels. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maximum product of effective channel gains: an innovative user selection algorithm for downlink multi‐user multiple input and multiple output

Recently, zero‐forcing beamforming has been widely used for multiple‐input and multiple‐output broadcast channels, because it could provide suboptimal capacity with low complexity. To increase the sum data rate, a good user selection algorithm is attractive. In this paper, a new user selection algorithm named maximum product of effective channel gains is presented. The proposed algorithm is described mathematically, and the lower bound of the sum capacity is demonstrated to be proportional to the product of effective channel gains. Our simulation results show that maximum product of effective channel gains can achieve higher sum rate compared with the classical algorithm, semi‐orthogonal user selection, with the same complexity order, especially when the signal‐to‐noise ratio is high; in addition, the complexity of the proposed algorithm is superior to minimum of the Frobenius norm of the pseudo‐inverse algorithm. Meanwhile, the number of users that can be served simultaneously is equal to the number of transmission antennas, which is the maximum performance that can be achieved.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analyzing GPS signals to investigate path diversity effects of non‐geostationary orbit satellite communication systems

The concept behind path diversity is that a user who can access several satellites simultaneously will be able to communicate more effectively than a user who could only access one. The success of this method depends on the environment, the satellite constellation, and diversity combining technology. This paper explores the path diversity effects of non‐geostationary orbit (NGO) satellite personal communication services, for different degrees of user mobility, under various scenarios, using the constellation of the global positioning system (GPS). Measurements are taken near downtown Taipei. Three types of mobilities (fixed‐point, pedestrian, and vehicular) are examined, and the switch diversity and maximum ratio combining method are applied to determine the path diversity gain and calculate bit error probability. The error probability performance of applying diversity schemes in coherent binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and non‐coherent differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulations over Rician fading channels are also analysed and evaluated by using the characteristic function method. The results show that fading can be significantly reduced and diversity greatly increased. A significant diversity gain and improvement in bit error rate (BER) can be expected in all cases by simply applying switch diversity scheme. Besides, for the maximum ratio combining method, the results imply that summing two satellite signals suffices to increase diversity and improve the bit error rate performance. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An anti‐repeater‐jamming approach based on blind source separation for the downlink of satellite communication systems

In this paper, an anti‐jamming approach is proposed for the downlink of satellite communication systems when encountering a hostile repeater‐jamming. Based on blind source separation, this approach can eliminate repeater‐jamming by separating the mixtures of the communication signals and the repeater‐jamming. Meanwhile, oversampling method is employed to transform the underdetermined mixing of signals into a determined mixing for facilitating the separation. In the simulations, the symbol error ratio (SER) of the separated communication signals can approximate the theory SER, and the anti‐repeater‐jamming capacity can arrive to nearly 28 dB.     

A reconstructing approach to end‐to‐end network traffic based on multifractal wavelet model

This paper studies the reconstructing method of end‐to‐end network traffic. Due to the development of current communication networks, our networks become more complex and heterogeneous. Meanwhile, because of time‐varying nature and spatio‐temporal correlations of the end‐to‐end network traffic, to obtain it accurately is a great challenge. We propose to exploit discrete wavelet transforms and multifractal analysis to reconstruct the end‐to‐end network traffic from time–frequency domain. First, its time–frequency properties can be characterized in detail by discrete wavelet transforms. And then, we combine discrete wavelet transforms and multifractal analysis to reconstruct end‐to‐end network traffic from link loads. Furthermore, our method needs to measure end‐to‐end network traffic to build the statistical model named multifractal wavelet model. Finally, simulation results from the real backbone networks suggest that our method can reconstruct the end‐to‐end network traffic more accurately than previous methods. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A prototype of high‐sensitivity noncoherent receiver for ADS‐B signals

In this paper, we design a high‐sensitivity noncoherent receiver for the reception of automatic dependent surveillance‐broadcast (ADS‐B) signals in a satellite‐based application. The proposed receiver is of constant false alarm rate (CFAR) property and implemented completely by the field programmable gate array (FPGA). Two vital parameters of the receiver, probabilities of detection and correct reception, are analytically formulated and validated by Monte Carlo simulations as well. We examine the availability of algorithms exploited in the proposed receiver by feeding the real ADS‐B signals collected near the Nanjing Lukou International Airport. Then, we build a receiver prototype. Some prototype tests are carried out in the laboratory. We find out that the sensitivity of the proposed receiver is approximately  dBm, corresponding to the probability of correct reception equal to 0.93, and it is consistent with the theoretical value.     

A novel software‐defined networking approach for vertical handoff in heterogeneous wireless networks

We propose a novel vertical handoff scheme with the support of the software‐defined networking technique for heterogeneous wireless networks. The proposed scheme solves two important issues in vertical handoff: network selection and handoff timing. In this paper, the network selection is formulated as a 0‐1 integer programming problem, which maximizes the sum of channel capacities that handoff users can obtain from their new access points. After the network selection process is finished, a user will wait for a time period. Only if the new access point is consistently more appropriate than the current access point during this time period, will the user transfer its inter‐network connection to the new access point. Our proposed scheme ensures that a user will transfer to the most appropriate access point at the most appropriate time. Comprehensive simulation has been conducted. It is shown that the proposed scheme reduces the number of vertical handoffs, maximizes the total throughput, and user served ratio significantly. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.