A Primer on Ray-Tracing: Shooting and Bouncing Ray Method
Ray-tracing is a promising alternative for Radio Frequency Planning particularly in urban areas. There are two fundamental techniques used for ray-tracing namely Shooting and Bouncing Rays and Method of Images. In this paper, we focus on the former and present simulation results for an urban scenario in the city of Helsinki. We also give an insight into how the Shooting and Bouncing Ray method can be implemented using basic linear algebra techniques. We show that ray-tracing can be used to evaluate the performance improvement attained through electromagnetic reflectors. Finally, we close the discussion by outlining the existing challenges and the way forward.
https://www.techrxiv.org/doi/full/10.36227/techrxiv.24660174.v1
Orthogonal Minimum Shift Keying: A New Perspective on Interference Rejection
Co-Channel Interference is a classical problem in cellular systems that has been studied extensively and several methods have been proposed to overcome it. These include interference rejection techniques as well as joint detection techniques. We have previously proposed a joint detection technique for MSK-type signals that works quite well in certain conditions. In this paper, we formally present what we call Orthogonal MSK and postulate that if two MSK signals have a 90-degree phase offset between them then both can be detected successfully increasing the spectral efficiency two-fold. This technique works well even if the two signals are near equal power and have the same carrier frequency.
https://www.techrxiv.org/doi/full/10.36227/techrxiv.24511708.v1
Why is MIMO Capacity in a Fading Environment Higher than in an AWGN Environment
A wireless channel suffers from two fundamental impairments; fading and noise. While fading is multiplicative, noise is additive. It is well-known that higher the noise, lower is the signal to noise ratio and lower the capacity. However, fading can be helpful in increasing the capacity when using multiple transmit and receive antennas. In this paper, we give an intuitive explanation for this. Anybody with a background in linear algebra and matrices can understand this.
https://www.techrxiv.org/doi/full/10.36227/techrxiv.24372538.v1
In a previous post we have seen that MIMO fading capacity is much higher than AWGN capacity with multiple antennas. How is this possible? How can randomness added by a fading channel help us? In this post we try to find the reason for this. Let’s assume the following signal model for a Multi Input Multi Output antenna system.
x=Hs+w
Here s is the NT by 1 signal vector, w is the NR by 1 noise vector and H is the NR by NT channel matrix. The received signal vector is represented by x which has dimensions of NR by 1. In expanded form this can be written as (assuming NT =4 and NR =4):
Continue reading Why is MIMO Fading Capacity Higher than AWGN Capacity →
In a previous post we had discussed MIMO capacity in a fading environment and compared it to AWGN capacity. It sometimes feels unintuitive that fading capacity can be higher than AWGN capacity. If a signal is continuously fluctuating how is it possible that we are able to have reliable communication. But this is the remarkable feature of MIMO systems that they are able to achieve blazing speeds over an unreliable channel, at least theoretically. It has been shown mathematically that an NxN MIMO channel is equivalent to N SISO channels in parallel.
Continue reading MIMO, SIMO and MISO Capacity in AWGN and Fading Environment →
Recently I came across a post from T-Mobile in which they claim to have achieved a download speed of 5.6 Gbps over a 100 MHz channel resulting in a Spectral Efficiency of more than 50 bps/Hz. This was achieved in an MU-MIMO configuration with eight connected devices having an aggregate of 16 parallel streams i.e. two parallel streams per device. The channel used for this experiment was the mid-band frequency of 2.5 GHz.
Continue reading 5G Data Rates and Shannon Capacity →
While reading an article on social media I came to know that Siavash M. Alamouti has been awarded the Marconi Award for the year 2022. It came as no surprise as his work on MIMO technology has been ground breaking and has influenced the work of thousands of researchers. If there is a moot point it is that this award must have been given earlier. Just look up his 1998 paper on Google Scholar and you will find that the number of citations has reached a staggering figure of 18,756. On a personal front, I must admit that when I started my research on MIMO I was having difficulty grasping the concepts and it was Alamouti’s paper that set my direction of research.
Continue reading My Top 12 Marconi Award Winners →
Wireless researchers are continuously exploring ways to increase the spectral efficiency (bits/sec/Hz) and energy efficiency (bits/Joule) of wireless communication systems [1]. Spectral efficiency can generally be improved by using larger constellations or by using multiple antennas at the transmitter and receiver, better known as MIMO. But increasing energy efficiency is not that straightforward. Let’s consider this in bit more detail.
Continue reading Index Modulation Explained →