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In this two-part paper, the problem of channel estimation in Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) systems is investigated. In Part I, a novel Hybrid Sparse/Diffuse (HSD) model is proposed for the UWB channel, and new channel estimation strategies are designed for this model. In this paper (Part II), a Mean-Squared Error (MSE) analysis of the Generalized MMSE and Generalized Thresholding Estimators developed in Part I is performed, for the asymptotic regimes of low and high SNR. The analysis quantifies the achievable MSE performance of these schemes over unstructured estimators. Specifically, we prove that it is beneficial to be conservative in the estimation of the sparse component, i.e., to assume that the sparse component is sparser than it actually is. Moreover, we analyze the scenario with a non-orthogonal pilot sequence, and establish a connection between the Generalized Thresholding estimator and conventional sparse approximation algorithms proposed in the literature. In addition to the theoretical analysis, these channel estimation schemes are evaluated in a more realistic geometry-based channel emulator, for which the HSD model developed in Part I is an approximation. The numerical results are shown to match the expected asymptotic MSE behavior. Moreover, the proposed estimation techniques are shown to outperform conventional unstructured and purely sparse estimators, from both an MSE and a bit error rate perspectives, even for the realistic geometry-based channel model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this two-part paper, the problem of channel estimation in Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) systems is investigated. Due to the large transmission bandwidth, the channel has been traditionally modeled as sparse. However, some propagation phenomena, e.g., scattering from rough surfaces and frequency distortion, are better modeled by a diffuse channel. Herein, a novel Hybrid Sparse/Diffuse (HSD) channel model is proposed. Tailored to the HSD model, channel estimators are designed for different scenarios that vary in the amount of side information available at the receiver. An Expectation-Maximization algorithm to estimate the power delay profile of the diffuse component is also designed. The proposed methods are compared to unstructured and purely sparse estimators. The numerical results show that the HSD estimation schemes considerably improve the estimation accuracy and the bit error rate performance over conventional channel estimators. In Part II, the new channel estimators are evaluated with more realistic geometry-based channel emulators. The numerical results show that, even when the channel is generated in this manner, the new estimation strategies achieve high performance. Moreover, a Mean-Squared Error analysis of the proposed estimators is performed, in the high and low Signal to Noise Ratio regimes, thus quantifying, in closed form, the achievable performance gains. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The multipath capture of ultrawideband (UWB) communications systems can be dependent on the accuracy of channel estimation. Furthermore, inefficient modeling of the channel often leads to over-parametrization and increased channel estimation error. Relying on a channel model based on clusters, this letter proposes a maximum likelihood estimation strategy which exploits the properties of the UWB channel and offers performance improvement of about 2 dB over less parametric schemes. The robustness of the proposed algorithm in the presence of pulse distortion is investigated and the corresponding BER degradation is observed to be small even when experimental data are employed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Algorithms for the estimation of a channel whose impulse response is characterized by a large number of zero tap coefficients are developed and compared. Estimation is conducted in a two-stage fashion where an estimate of the non-zero taps is followed by channel estimation. Tap detection is transformed into an equivalent on-off keying detection problem. Several tap detection algorithms are investigated which tradeoff between complexity and performance. The proposed methods are compared to an unstructured least squares channel estimate as well as a structured approach based on matching pursuit. Three schemes in particular are developed: a sphere decoder based scheme, a Viterbi algorithm based method and a simpler iterative approach. The latter offers a better tradeoff between estimation accuracy and computational cost. A joint estimation and zero tap detection scheme is also considered. All solutions exhibit a significant gain in terms of mean-squared error and bit error rate over conventional schemes which do not exploit the sparse nature of the channel, as well as the matching pursuit approach which does endeavor to exploit the sparsity [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Due to their extremely large transmission bandwidth, ultrawideband (UWB) communications systems have the potential for significant multipath capture. However, such capture can be dependent on the accuracy of channel estimation, which is the problem considered herein. Strategies that exploit properties of the UWB channel can offer performance improvement over schemes which are less parametric. To this end, recent UWB propagation studies and associated channel modelling suggest that clustering occurs in both space and time for indoor wireless office/laboratory environments. Motivated by this study, a two-stage channel estimation scheme is proposed. First, coarse channel estimation is conducted which estimates the location and dispersion of a cluster around this location. Then, channel estimation efforts are localized around the nominal location to reduce the dimensionality of the estimation of the parameters associated with the different multipath components. For cluster estimation, methods based on maximum-likelihood and correlation matrix fitting are considered. Different strategies are presented for multipath estimation, based on the expectation maximization algorithm and correlator output maximization. The bit error rate of a Rake type receiver is simulated with the estimated channel parameters for a multipath scenario based on clusters. Simulation results indicate that the clustered approach offers solid performance gains over conventional methods [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Synchronization is one of the most critical issues in ultra-wideband communications due to the short duration of the pulses. In this work, a semi-blind synchronization scheme based on maximum-likelihood techniques to recover both symbol and frame timing is developed. The proposed algorithm performs joint timing and channel estimation and is thus robust against moderate timing errors. The probability of acquisition is computed based on correlated Gaussian random variables and analytical results are shown to be accurate for moderate to high SNR values relative to simulated performance. The results reveal that the proposed algorithm achieves a significant performance gain in terms of mean-squared error and bit-error-rate in comparison to proposed frame rate (FR) based algorithms. The impact of a low resolution analog-to-digital converter is shown to be marginal [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]