Wireless

transmission

RF Basics

Factors affecting wireless system design

Frequency allocations
o What range to operate? May need licenses.

Multiple access mechanism

o How do users share the medium without interfering?

Antennas and propagation

o What distances? Possible channel errors introduced.

Signals encoding
o How to improve the data rate?

Error correction
o How to ensure that bandwidth is not wasted?

Frequencies for communication

twisted
pair

coax cable

1 Mm
300 Hz

10 km
30 kHz

VLF

optical transmission

100 m
3 MHz

LF

MF

HF

1m
300 MHz

10 mm
30 GHz

VHF

SHF

UHF

EHF

100 m
3 THz

infrared

1 m
300 THz

visible light UV

VLF = Very Low Frequency UHF = Ultra High Frequency

LF = Low Frequency SHF = Super High Frequency
MF = Medium Frequency
EHF = Extra High Frequency
HF = High Frequency
UV = Ultraviolet Light
VHF = Very High Frequency

Frequency and wave length: = c/f

wave length , speed of light c 3x108m/s,
frequency f
4

Wireless frequency allocation

Radio frequencies range from 9KHz to
400GHZ (ITU)
Microwave frequency range
o
o
o
o

1 GHz to 40 GHz
Directional beams possible
Suitable for point-to-point transmission
Used for satellite communications

Radio frequency range

o 30 MHz to 1 GHz
o Suitable for omnidirectional applications

Infrared frequency range

o Roughly, 3x1011 to 2x1014 Hz
o Useful in local point-to-point multipoint
applications within confined areas

Frequencies for mobile communication

VHF-/UHF-ranges for mobile radio
o simple, small antenna for cars
o deterministic propagation characteristics, reliable
connections
SHF and higher for directed radio links, satellite
communication
o small antenna, focusing
o large bandwidth available
Wireless LANs use frequencies in UHF to SHF spectrum
o some systems planned up to EHF
o limitations due to absorption by water and oxygen
molecules (resonance frequencies)
weather dependent fading, signal loss caused by
heavy rainfall etc.
6

Frequency regulations
Frequencies from 9KHz to 300 MHZ in high demand
(especially VHF: 30-300MHZ)
Two unlicensed bands
o Industrial, Science, and Medicine (ISM): 2.4 GHz
o Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII): 5.2 GHz

Different agencies license and regulate

o
o
o
o

www.fcc.gov - US
www.etsi.org - Europe
www.wpc.dot.gov.in - India
www.itu.org - International co-ordination

Regional, national, and international issues

Procedures for military, emergency, air traffic control,
etc.
7

Wireless transmission
Antenna
Transmitter

Antenna
Receiver

Wireless communication systems consist of:

o Transmitters
o Antennas: radiates electromagnetic energy
into air
o Receivers
In some cases, transmitters and receivers are
on same device, called transceivers.
8

Transmitters
Amplifier

Mixer

Filter

Antenna

Amplifier

Source
Oscillator

Transmitter

Suppose you want to generate a signal that is sent at 900 MHz

and
the original source generates a signal at 300 MHz.
Amplifier - strengthens the initial signal
Oscillator - creates a carrier wave of 600 MHz
Mixer - combines signal with oscillator and produces 900
MHz (also does modulation, etc)
Filter - selects correct frequency
Amplifier - Strengthens the signal before sending it
9

Antennas

Antennas
An antenna is an electrical conductor or system
of conductors to send/receive RF signals
o Transmission - radiates electromagnetic energy into
space
o Reception - collects electromagnetic energy from space

In two-way communication, the same antenna

can be used for transmission and reception

Omnidirectional Antenna
(lower frequency)

Directional Antenna
(higher frequency)

11

Antennas: isotropic radiator

Radiation and reception of electromagnetic

waves, coupling of wires to space for radio
transmission
Isotropic radiator: equal radiation in all
directions (three dimensional) - only a
theoretical reference antenna
Real antennas always have directive effects
(vertically and/or horizontally)
Radiation pattern: measurement of radiation
around an antenna
z
y

y
x

ideal
isotropic
radiator
12

Antennas: simple dipoles

Real antennas are not isotropic radiators

o dipoles with lengths /4 on car roofs or /2 (Hertzian dipole)

shape of antenna proportional to wavelength

Gain: maximum power in the direction of the main

lobe compared to the power of an isotropic radiator
(with the same average power)
/4

/2

y
x

side view (xy-plane)

z
z

side view (yz-plane)

simple
dipole

top view (xz-plane)

13

Antennas: directed and sectorized

Often used for microwave connections or base
stations for mobile phones (e.g., radio coverage of
a valley)
y

side view (xy-plane)

side view (yz-plane)

top view (xz-plane)

z

top view, 3 sector

directed
antenna

sectorized
antenna

top view, 6 sector

14

Antenna models
In Omni Mode:
Nodes receive signals with gain Go

In Directional Mode:
Capable of beamforming in specified direction
Directional Gain Gd (Gd > Go)

15

Directional communication
Received Power (Transmit power)
*(Tx Gain) * (Rx Gain)
Directional gain is higher
Directional antennas useful for:
Increase range, keeping transmit power constant
Reduce transmit power, keeping range comparable
with omni mode
16

Comparison of omni and directional

Issues

Omni

Directional

Spatial Reuse

Low

High

Connectivity

Low

High

Interference

Omni

Directional

Cost & Complexity

Low

High

17

Antennas: diversity

Grouping of 2 or more antennas

o multi-element antenna arrays

Antenna diversity
o switched diversity, selection diversity
receiver chooses antenna with largest
output
o diversity combining
combine output power to produce gain
cophasing needed to avoid cancellation
/4

/2

/4

/2

/2

/2

ground plane
18

Signal Propagation and Modulation

Signals
physical representation of data
function of time and location
signal parameters: parameters representing the
value of data
classification
o
o
o
o

continuous time/discrete time

continuous values/discrete values
analog signal = continuous time and continuous values
digital signal = discrete time and discrete values

signal parameters of periodic signals:

period T, frequency f=1/T, amplitude A, phase shift

o sine wave as special periodic signal for a carrier:

s(t) = At sin(2 ft t + t)
20

Signal propagation ranges

Transmission range
o communication possible
o low error rate

Detection range
o detection of the signal
possible
o no communication
possible

Interference range
o signal may not be
detected
o signal adds to the
background noise

sender
transmission
distance
detection
interference

21

Attenuation: Propagation & Range

22

Attenuation
Strength of signal falls off with
distance over transmission medium
Attenuation factors for unguided
media:
o Received signal must have sufficient strength so that
circuitry in the receiver can interpret the signal
o Signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error
o Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies, causing
distortion

Approach: amplifiers that strengthen

higher frequencies

23

Signal propagation

Propagation in free space always like light

(straight line)
Receiving power proportional to 1/d
(d = distance between sender and receiver)
Receiving power additionally influenced by
o
o
o
o
o
o

fading (frequency dependent)

shadowing
reflection at large obstacles
refraction depending on the density of a medium
scattering at small obstacles
diffraction at edges

shadowing

reflection

refraction

scattering

diffraction
24

Multipath propagation

Signal can take many different paths between sender

and receiver due to reflection, scattering, diffraction
multipath
LOS pulses pulses

signal at sender
signal at receiver

Time dispersion: signal is dispersed over time

interference with neighbor symbols, Inter

Symbol Interference (ISI)
The signal reaches a receiver directly and phase
shifted

distorted signal depending on the phases of

the different parts

25

Effects of mobility

Channel characteristics change over time and

location
o signal paths change
o different delay variations of different signal parts
o different phases of signal parts

quick changes in the power

received
power
(short term fading)

long term
fading

Additional changes in
o distance to sender
o obstacles further away

short term fading

slow changes in the average power

received (long term fading)

26

Propagation modes
Signal

Transmission
Antenna
a) Ground Wave Propagation

Earth

Receiving
Antenna

Ionosphere

Signal
b) Sky Wave Propagation

Earth

Signal
c) Line-of-Sight Propagation
Earth
27

Modulation

Digital modulation

o digital data is translated into an analog signal (baseband)

o ASK, FSK, PSK
o differences in spectral efficiency, power efficiency,
robustness

Analog modulation
o shifts center frequency of baseband signal up to the radio
carrier

Motivation
o smaller antennas (e.g., /4)
o Frequency Division Multiplexing
o medium characteristics

Basic schemes
o Amplitude Modulation (AM)
o Frequency Modulation (FM)
o Phase Modulation (PM)
28

Modulation and
demodulation
digital
data
101101001

digital
modulation

analog
baseband
signal

analog
modulation

radio transmitter

radio
carrier

analog
demodulation

analog
baseband
signal

synchronization
decision

digital
data
101101001

radio receiver

radio
carrier

29

Digital modulation

Modulation of digital signals known as Shift Keying

1
0
1
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK):
o very simple
o low bandwidth requirements
o very susceptible to interference

Frequency Shift Keying (FSK):

o needs larger bandwidth

t

Phase Shift Keying (PSK):

o more complex
o robust against interference

Many advanced variants

30

Multiplexing
Mechanisms

Multiplexing
channels ki
k1

k2

k3

k4

k5

k6

Multiplexing in 4 dimensionsc
o
o
o
o

space (si)
time (t)
frequency (f)
code (c)

c
t

s1

Goal: multiple use

of a shared medium
Important: guard spaces needed!

s2

t
s3

32

Frequency multiplex

Separation of the whole spectrum into smaller frequency

bands
A channel gets a certain band of the spectrum for the
whole time
Advantages:
k1
k2
k3
k4
k5
k6
no dynamic coordination
c
necessary
works also for analog signals

Disadvantages:
waste of bandwidth
if the traffic is
distributed unevenly
inflexible
t
guard spaces
33

Time multiplex

A channel gets the whole spectrum for a certain

amount of time
Advantages:
only one carrier in the
medium at any time
throughput high even
for many users

k1

k2

k3

k4

k5

k6

c
f

Disadvantages:
precise
synchronization
necessary
t
34

Time and frequency

multiplex
Combination of both methods
A channel gets a certain frequency band for a certain
amount of time
Example: GSM
k1
k2
k3
k4
k5
k6
Advantages:
o better protection against
tapping
o protection against frequency
selective interference
o higher data rates compared to
code multiplex

c
f

but: precise coordination

required

35

Code multiplex
Each channel has a unique
code
All channels use the same
spectrum at the same time
Advantages:

k1

k2

k3

k4

k5

k6

o bandwidth efficient
o no coordination and
synchronization necessary
o good protection against
interference and tapping

Disadvantages:
o lower user data rates
o more complex signal regeneration

Implemented using spread

spectrum technology

36

CDMA Example
o D = rate of data signal
o Break each bit into k chips
Chips are a user-specific fixed pattern

o Chip data rate of new channel = kD

If k=6 and code is a sequence of 1s and

-1s
o For a 1 bit, A sends code as chip pattern
<c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6>

o For a 0 bit, A sends complement of code

<-c1, -c2, -c3, -c4, -c5, -c6>

Receiver knows senders code and

S u d d1 celectronic
1 d 2 c 2 d 3decode
c3 d 4 cfunction
4 d 5 c5 d 6 c 6
performs
<d1, d2, d3, d4, d5, d6> = received chip pattern

37

CDMA Example

User A code = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>

o To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>
o To send a 0 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>

User B code = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>

o To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>

Receiver receiving with As code

o (As code) x (received chip pattern)
User A 1 bit: 6 -> 1
User A 0 bit: -6 -> 0
User B 1 bit: 0 -> unwanted signal ignored

38

Spread spectrum technology

Problem of radio transmission: frequency
dependent fading can wipe out narrow band signals
for duration of the interference
Solution: spread the narrow band signal into a
broad band signal using a special code - protection
against narrow band interference
power

interference

spread
signal

power

signal

detection at
receiver

Side effects:

spread
interference
f

o coexistence of several signals without dynamic

coordination
o tap-proof

Alternatives: Direct Sequence, Frequency Hopping

39

Spread-spectrum
communications

40

Effects of spreading and

interference
dP/df
dP/df
i)

user signal
broadband interference
narrowband interference

ii)
f
sender
dP/df

dP/df

dP/df

iii)

iv)
f

receiver

v)
f

41

DSSS properties

42

Source: Intersil

DSSS (Direct Sequence)

XOR of the signal with pseudo-random

number (chipping sequence)

o many chips per bit (e.g., 128)t result in higher

bandwidth of the signal
b

Advantages

user data
0

o reduces frequency selective t

fading
o in cellular networks
01101010110101

XOR

base stations can use the

same frequency range
several base stations can
detect and recover the signal
soft handover

Disadvantages

chipping
sequence
=
resulting
signal

01101011001010

tb: bit period

tc: chip period

o precise power control necessary

43

DSSS Transmit/Receive
spread
spectrum
signal

user data
X
chipping
sequence

transmit
signal

modulator

radio
carrier
transmitter

correlator
received
signal

demodulator
radio
carrier

lowpass
filtered
signal

products
X

integrator

sampled
sums

data

decision

chipping
sequence
receiver

44

Frequency Hopping Spread

Spectrum (FHSS)
Signal is broadcast over seemingly random series
of radio frequencies
Signal hops from frequency to frequency at fixed
intervals
Channel sequence dictated by spreading code
Receiver, hopping between frequencies in
synchronization with transmitter, picks up message
Advantages
o Eavesdroppers hear only unintelligible blips
o Attempts to jam signal on one frequency succeed only at
knocking out a few bits

45

FHSS (Frequency Hopping)

Discrete changes of carrier frequency
o sequence of frequency changes determined via pseudo
random number sequence

Two versions
o Fast Hopping: several frequencies per user bit
o Slow Hopping: several user bits per frequency

Advantages
o frequency selective fading and interference limited to
short period
o simple implementation
o uses only small portion of spectrum at any time

Disadvantages
o not as robust as DSSS
o simpler to detect
46

Slow and Fast FHSS

tb
user data
0

td

f3

slow
hopping
(3 bits/hop)

f2
f1
f

td

f3

fast
hopping
(3 hops/bit)

f2
f1
t

tb: bit period

td: dwell time

47

FHSS Transmit/Receive
narrowband
signal

user data
modulator

modulator

frequency
synthesizer

transmitter

received
signal

hopping
sequenc
e

spread
transmit
signal

narrowband
signal
demodulator

frequency
synthesizer

hopping
sequenc
e

data

demodulator

receiver

48

OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division)

Parallel data transmission on several orthogonal
subcarriers with lower
rate
c
f

k3

Maximum of one subcarrier frequency appears exactly at a frequency

where all other subcarriers equal zero

superposition of frequencies in the same frequency range

Amplitude

subcarrier: sin(x)
SI function= x

f
49

 Properties

OFDM

o Lower data rate on each subcarrier less ISI

o interference on one frequency results in interference of
one subcarrier only
o no guard space necessary
o orthogonality allows for signal separation via inverse
FFT on receiver side
o precise synchronization necessary (sender/receiver)

Advantages
o no equalizer necessary
o no expensive filters with sharp edges necessary
o better spectral efficiency (compared to CDM)

Application
o 802.11a, HiperLAN2, ADSL
50