Performance evaluation of OFDM and single‐carrier systems using frequency domain equalization and phase modulation

In this paper, we study the performance of the continuous phase modulation (CPM)‐based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CPM‐OFDM) system. Also, we propose a CPM‐based single‐carrier frequency domain equalization (CPM‐SC‐FDE) structure for broadband wireless communication systems. The proposed structure combines the advantages of the low complexity of SC‐FDE, in addition to exploiting the channel frequency diversity and the power efficiency of CPM. Both the CPM‐OFDM system and the proposed system are implemented with FDE to avoid the complexity of the equalization. Two types of frequency domain equalizers are considered and compared for performance evaluation of both systems; the zero forcing (ZF) equalizer and the minimum mean square error (MMSE) equalizer. Simulation experiments are performed for a variety of multipath fading channels. Simulation results show that the performance of the CPM‐based systems with multipath fading is better than their performance with single path fading. The performance over a multipath channel is at least 5 and 12 dB better than the performance over a single path channel, for the CPM‐OFDM system and the proposed CPM‐SC‐FDE system, respectively. The results also show that, when CPM is utilized in SC‐FDE systems, they can outperform CPM‐OFDM systems by about 5 dB. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Channel estimation based on learning automata for OFDM systems

The abundant benefits of Orthogonal Frequency‐Division Multiplexing and its high flexibility have resulted in its widespread applications in many telecommunication standards. One important parameter for improving wireless system's efficiency is the accurate estimation of channel state information. In the literatures, many techniques have been studied in order to estimate the channel state information. Nowadays, the techniques based on intelligent algorithms such as genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization (PSO) have attracted attention of researchers. With a very low pilot overhead, these techniques are able to estimate the channel frequency response properly only using the received signals. Unfortunately, each of these techniques suffers a common weakness: they have a slow convergence rate. In this paper, a new intelligent and different method has been presented for channel estimation using learning automata, entitled LA estimator, where the learning automata are search agents, and each pair is responsible for searching 1 complex coefficient of the channel frequency response. This method can achieve an accurate channel estimation with a moderate computational complexity in comparison with GA and PSO estimators. Furthermore, with higher convergence rate, our proposed method is capable of providing the same performance as GA and PSO. For a 2‐path fast fading channel, simulation results demonstrate the robustness of our proposed scheme according to the bit error rate and the mean square error.     

Capacity and Channel Coding for Wireless Point-to-Point <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript> Channel

In this paper, we derive the capacity of the asymmetric \({\text{Z}}^{2}\)-channel, which has been presented for the first time as an optimization problem. Similar to the Z-Channel, the proposed \({\text{Z}}^{2}\)-channel can be modelled as a practical interference wireless channel. In addition, the capacity behavior of \({\text{Z}}^{2}\)-channel is discussed and some examples and simulation results for the capacity is presented. Also a code plan has been applied for \({\text{Z}}^{2}\)-channel, based on repetition code to simulate its performance and compare it with the original Z-channel. In conclusion, simulation results show that the \({\text{Z}}^{2}\)-channel can be used widely for different operating points.     

Interference Mitigation Based on Radio Aware Channel Assignment for Wireless Mesh Networks

An intricate network deployment for high demand users leads to simultaneous transmission in wireless mesh networks. Multiple radios are adapted to individual nodes for improving network performance and Quality of Service (QoS). However, whenever multiple radios are assigned to the same channel, co-located radio interference occurs, which poses a major drawback. This paper proposes a Radio aware Channel Assignment (Ra-CA) mechanism based on a direct graphical model for mitigation of interference in multi-radio multi-channel networks. Initially, the co-located radio interference is identified by classifying non-interfering links for simultaneous transmission in the network. Proposed channel assignment mechanism helps in allocating the minimal number of channels to the network that mitigate co-located radio interference. Performance analysis of the proposed Ra-CA strategy is carried out compared with other existing techniques, like Breadth First Search-Channel Assignment (BFS-CA) and Maximal Independent Set Channel Assignment (MaIS-CA), in multi-radio networks. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed channel assignment scheme is more efficient compared to the existing ones, in terms of QoS parameters like, packet drop rate, packet delivery ratio, transmission delay and throughput.     

Neodymium-doped tantalum pentoxide waveguide lasers

The fabrication, spectroscopic properties, and laser performance of Nd/sup 3+/-doped Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/ channel waveguide lasers are described. Lasing is obtained at both 1.066 and 1.375 /spl mu/m with threshold pump powers as low as 2.7 mW. The rib waveguides are reactive-ion-etched into Nd:Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/ layers formed by reactive magnetron sputtering. These high-index low-loss rare-earth-doped waveguides are fabricated on silicon substrates and offer the potential for integration with photonic crystal structures for compact optical circuits.     

Feasibility and performance evaluation of a 6LoWPAN‐enabled platform for ubiquitous healthcare monitoring

Technology has revolutionized medical practices by enabling more convenient and non‐intrusive monitoring of patient's health, leading to next generation ubiquitous healthcare (u‐healthcare). The exploitation of the Internet protocol version 6 addressing space along with the miniaturization of electronic devices has fostered providing interoperability and connectivity of wearable sensor devices in wireless body area networks to the Internet of Things. In this paper, we propose to integrate the IPv6 over low power wireless personal area network (6LoWPAN) to the u‐healthcare monitoring system architecture. The main objective is to study the feasibility of the 6LoWPAN‐enabled platform in real‐world scenarios dealing with medical data. The performance evaluation of this platform is carried out initially through simulations using OMNet++ and then supported by an experimental study using sensor motes and a customized micro‐computing unit. Performance metrics such as throughput, end‐to‐end delay, packet error rate, and energy consumption are investigated under acute health conditions, where patient's health information has to be sent continuously and at maximum rate to the care provider. The obtained results show that the proposed 6LoWPAN solution fulfills the main quality of service requirements of u‐healthcare applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Union Bound on the Error Probability of Binary Coded OFDM Systems in Wireless Environments

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems are commonly used to mitigate frequency-selective multipath fading and provide high-speed data transmission. In this paper, we derive new union bounds on the error probability of a coded OFDM system in wireless environments. In particular, we consider convolutionally coded OFDM systems employing single and multiple transmit antennas over correlated block fading (CBF) channels with perfect channel state information (CSI). Results show that the new union bound is tight to simulation results. In addition, the bound accurately captures the effect of the correlation between sub-carriers channels. It is shown that as the channel becomes more frequency-selective, the performance get better due to the increased frequency diversity. Moreover, the bound also captures the effect of multi-antenna as space diversity. The proposed bounds can be applied for coded OFDM systems employing different coding schemes over different channel models.     

Stackable nonvolatile memory with ultra thin polysilicon film and low-leakage (Ti, Dy)xOy for low processing temperature and low operating voltages

We report the fabrication process as well as material and electrical characterization of ultra thin body (UTB) thin film transistors (TFTs) for stackable nonvolatile memories by using in situ phosphorous doped low-temperature polysilicon followed by the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The resulting polysilicon film is about 13 nm thick with approximately 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ doping. Root mean square surface roughness below 1 nm is achieved. Metal nanocrystals and high-k dielectric are selected for storage nodes and tunneling barriers to achieve low operating voltages. The number density and average diameter of nanocrystals embedded in the gate stack are 7.5 × 10¹¹ cm⁻² and 5.8 nm, respectively. Furthermore, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) are performed for material characterization. The dielectric constant of the (Ti, Dy)_xO_y film is 35, and the off-state leakage current at −1 V bias and 2.8 nm equivalent oxide thickness is 5 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm². We obtain a memory window of about 0.95 V with ±6 V program/erase voltages. Our results show that UTB TFT is a promising candidate for the three-dimensional integration in high-density nonvolatile memory applications.     

Security and Privacy Analysis of Song–Mitchell RFID Authentication Protocol

Many applications, such as e-passport, e-health, credit cards, and personal devices that utilize Radio frequency Identification (RFID) devices for authentication require strict security and privacy. However, RFID tags suffer from some inherent weaknesses due to restricted hardware capabilities and are vulnerable to eavesdropping, interception, or modification. The synchronization and untraceability characteristics are the major determinants of RFID authentication protocols. They are strongly related to privacy of tags and availability, respectively. In this paper, we analyze a new lightweight RFID authentication protocol, Song and Mitchell, in terms of privacy and security. We prove that not only is the scheme vulnerable to desynchronization attack, but it suffers from traceability and backward traceability as well. Finally, our improved scheme is proposed which can prevent aforementioned attacks.