A Simple decoding method for short-range MIMO (SR-MIMO) transmission can reduce the power consumption for MIMO decoding, but the distance between the transceivers requires millimeter-order accuracy in order to satisfy the required transmission quality. In this paper, we propose a phase difference control method between each propagation channel to alleviate the requirements for the transmission distance accuracy. In the proposed method, the phase difference between each propagation channel is controlled by changing the transmission (or received) power ratio of each element of sub-array antennas. In millimeter-wave broadband transmission simulation, we clarified that when sub-array antenna spacing is set to 6.6 mm and element spacing of sub-array antenna is set to 2.48mm, the proposed method can extend the transmission distance range satisfying the required transmission quality, which is that bit error rate (BER) before error correction is less than 10-2 from 9∼29mm to 0∼50mm in QPSK, from 15∼19mm to 0∼30mm in 16QAM, and from only 15mm to 4∼22mm in 64QAM.

A method for increasing alignment tolerance in simple multiple-stream transmission is described. Its use of π-shifted antenna directivity phase enables it to cancel interference even when antenna placement deviations occur. The interference cancellation by using π-shifted directivities provides higher alignment tolerance than that with conventional fixed weight methods. It also provides smaller channel gain variation than can be obtained using fixed weights even when antenna displacement occurs. An objective function is described that is determined by the alignment tolerance. The function is defined to maximize the alignment tolerance. The method's validity is confirmed by an experimental analysis of two-stream transmission in which the alignment tolerance of the proposed method is compared to that of conventional fixed weight methods.

A broadband RF front-end having a direct conversion architecture has been developed. The RF front-end consists of two broadband quadrature mixers, a multi-band local oscillator, and a broadband low-noise variable gain amplifier (LNVGA). The mixer achieves broadband characteristics through the incorporation of an in-phase power divider and a 45-degree power divider. The in-phase power divider achieves broadband characteristics through the addition of a compensation capacitor. The 45-degree power divider achieves broadband phase characteristics through the addition of a compensation capacitor and a compensation resistor. The local oscillator, which is composed of two VCOs, two frequency dividers, and four switches, can cover three systems including one FDD system. The LNVGA achieves its broadband characteristics without the use of reactance elements, such as inductors or capacitors. In a trial demonstration, when the RF frequency was between 900 MHz and 2.5 GHz, the mixer for a demodulator experimentally demonstrated an amplitude balance of less than 1.6 dB and a quadrature phase error of less than 3 degrees. When the RF frequency was between 900 MHz and 2.5 GHz, the mixer for a modulator demonstrated an image ratio of less than -30 dBc. The local oscillator demonstrated multi-band characteristics, which are able to cover the target frequencies for three systems (PDC, PHS, 2.4 GHz WLAN). From 900 MHz to 2.5 GHz, the amplifier shows a noise figure of less than 2.1 dB and a gain of 28 1.6 dB.

We propose a novel adaptive linearization technique for a balanced-amplifier array. The technique uses the specific intermodulation distortions (IMDs) at the output ports in the array. The detected IMD power level can be used to optimize the linearizer's characteristics. Because the design does not need as many power detectors and carrier cancel loops as it does amplifiers, we were able to successfully miniaturize the array-antenna system. This paper describes the principles, verified both experimentally and mathematically for a 4-port amplifier array.

Recently fiber optic links have been applied to radio signal distribution networks and also to signal feeder networks for phased array antennas, because they are able to offer wide bandwidth for achieving the high bit-rates and large capacity needed in the multimedia age. In these networks, a great many modules are needed to convert optical signals to radio signals. In order to reduce the complexity and cost of these modules, direct optical control techniques, which inject optical signals directly into microwave circuits, are very attractive. Thus, this paper proposes a novel optical control technique using tunable inductance circuits. This technique employs direct illumination as a means of optically tuning the inductance. Since the inductance value is inversely proportional to the square of the transconductance, it varies widely when the FET is directly illuminated. With direct illumination, the measured inductance variation in an experimental inductance circuit built with Pseudomorphic AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs HEMTs is more than 20 % from 0.5 to 2 GHz. As an application, a direct optically controlled oscillator was fabricated. The measured optical tuning range of the oscillation frequency is more than 19 % with an output power of -51 dBm. This is a promising technique for a variety of devices, including optically controlled oscillators, filters, phase shifters, and active antennas.

Novel multi-band mixers that can receive multiple band signals concurrently are proposed and evaluated. The mixers achieve independent gain control through novel relative power control method of the multiple local oscillator (LO) signals. Linear control is also achieved through multiple LO signal input with total LO power control. Theoretical analysis shows that odd-order nonlinearity components of the multiple LO signals support linear conversion gain control. Dual- and triple-band tests are conducted using typical three MOSFET mixers fabricated by a 0.25 µm SiGe BiCMOS process. Measurements confirm over 40 dB independent control of conversion gain, linear control achieved through LO input power control. The proposed mixers have high input linearity with a 5 dBm output third intercept point. A method is also proposed to reduce interference caused by mixing between multiple LO signals.

Newly developed multi-layer inductors on GaAs three-dimensional MMICs are presented. We analyzed single-, double-, triple-, and quadruple-layer stacked-type inductors in what may be the first report on inductors on a GaAs MMIC with three or more layers. The performance of single- and multi-layer inductors was measured and calculated by electromagnetic field simulation. The multi-layer inductors produce 2-11 times higher inductance than that of conventional inductors on 2D-MMICs although they are the same size. This means that the proposed multi-layer inductors have smaller areas with the same inductances than those of conventional inductors. We also conducted the first-ever investigation of how performance factors such as parasitic capacitance, Q-factor, and self-resonant frequency are degraded in multi-layer inductors vis-a-vis those of conventional inductors. A microwave amplifier using multi-layer inductors was demonstrated and found to reduce circuit size by 20%.

This paper presents a spatial division (SD) transmission method based on two-ray fading that dispenses with the high signal processing cost of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) detection and antennas with narrow beamwidth. We show the optimum array geometries as functions of the transmission distance for providing a concrete array design method. Moreover, we clarify achievable channel capacity considering reflection coefficients that depend on the polarization, incident angle, and dielectric constant. When the ground surface is conductive, for two- and three-element arrays, channel capacity is doubled and tripled, respectively, over that of free space propagation. We also clarify the application limit of this method for a dielectric ground by analyzing the channel capacity's dependency on the dielectric constant. With this method, increased channel capacity by SD transmission can be obtained merely by placing antennas of wireless transceiver sets that have only SISO (single-input and single-output) capability in a two-ray propagation environment. By using formulations presented in this paper for the first time and adding discussions on the adoption of polarization multiplexing, we clarify antenna geometries of SD transmission systems using polarization multiplexing for up to six streams.

In this paper we describe and experimentally validate a dual-band digital predistortion (DPD) model we propose that takes account of the intermodulation and harmonic distortion produced when the center frequencies of input bands have a harmonic relationship. We also describe and experimentally validate our proposed novel dual-band power amplifier (PA) linearization architecture consisting of a single feedback loop employing a dual-band mixer. Experiment results show that the DPD linearization the proposed model provides can compensate for intermodulation and harmonic distortion in a way that the conventional two-dimensional (2-D) DPD approach cannot. The proposed feedback architecture should make it possible to simplify analog-to-digital converter (ADC) design and eliminate the time lag between different feedback paths.

This paper describes a broadband active terminal circuit and its application to a distributed amplifier. In this study, we first analyzed and compared three types of active terminal circuits using representative circuit configurations, namely, an active terminal circuit with a common-emitter BJT, an active terminal circuit with a Darlington BJT pair, and an active terminal circuit with cascode-connected BJTs. The simulation results showed that the active terminal circuit with cascode-connected BJTs kept the matching condition up to high frequency. After the simulation, we fabricated a distributed amplifier that used an active terminal circuit with cascode-connected BJTs. The RF amplifier achieved a flat gain of 9.7 1.0 dB over a range of 3-15 GHz.

We have developed a new type of phase interpolation DDS with a digitally controlled delay generator. The new DDS is similar to a sine output DDS in that it produces low spurious signals, but it does not require a sine look-up table. Periodic jitter in the MSB of the DDS accumulator is reduced with the digitally controlled delay generator. Experimental results confirm successful frequency synthesizer operation in which the spurious signal level is successfully reduced to less than that the MSB of the accumulator.

Over 100 Gbit/s/ch high-speed optical transmission is required to achieve the high capacity networks that can meet future demands. The coherent receiver, which is expected to yield high frequency utilization, is a promising means of achieving such high-speed transmission. However, it requires a high-speed Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) because the received signal bandwidth would be over several tens or hundreds of GHz. To solve this problem, we propose a band-divided receiver structure for wideband optical signals. In the receiver, received wideband signals are divided into a number of narrow band signals without any guard band. We develop a band-divided receiver prototype and evaluate it in an experiment. In addition, we develop a real-time OFDM demodulator on an FPGA board that implements 1.5 GS/s ADCs. We demonstrate that the band-divided receiver prototype with its real-time OFDM demodulator and 1.5 GS/s ADC can demodulate single polarization 12 Gbit/s OFDM signals in real-time.

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is a useful means of achieving the higher data rates needed in the latest wireless devices. However, weighting calculations for MIMO transmission become complicated when there are a large number of antennas. Thus, developing a simpler way to transmit and receive multiple streams is an idea worth considering. With this in mind, we propose a spatial division method using orthogonal directivities formed by using higher order modes of rectangular microstrip antennas. Each of them is formed by one antenna element so that channels are orthogonalized only by antennas. We verify antenna radiation characteristics by using higher order mode microstrip antennas and confirm that orthogonal directivities are obtained with them. Measurement of two stream transmission reveals that the method achieves almost the same channel capacity as that of an eigenmode-beamforming method because of the high multiplexing gain it achieves.

This paper proposes a dynamic spectrum controlled (DSTC) channel allocation algorithm to increase the total throughput of satellite communication (SATCOM) systems. To effectively use satellite resources such as the satellite's maximum transponder bandwidth and maximum transmission power and to handle the propagation gain variation at all earth stations, the DSTC algorithm uses two new transmission techniques: spectrum compression and spectrum division. The algorithm controls various transmission parameters, such as the spectrum compression ratio, number of spectrum divisions, combination of modulation method and FEC coding rate (MODCOD), transmission power, and spectrum bandwidth to ensure a constant transmission bit rate under variable propagation conditions. Simulation results show that the DSTC algorithm achieves up to 1.6 times higher throughput than a simple MODCOD-based algorithm.

This paper describes miniaturized broadband lumped-element in-phase power dividers. We first propose two types of miniaturized broadband lumped-element in-phase power dividers composed of two inductors, a resistor, and two capacitors. Next, we use a simulation to compare these dividers with conventional power dividers. The simulation results reveal that the proposed lumped-element in-phase power dividers can help miniaturize circuits (by decreasing inductances by about 30%, reducing the number of necessary capacitors by half, and decreasing necessary capacitances by about 30% as compared to conventional lumped-element dividers) and attain broadband frequency characteristics (by increasing normalized operating frequency bandwidths (f/f0) by about 80% as compared to conventional lumped-element dividers).

This paper describes a blind frequency offset estimator (FOE) with wide frequency range for coherent quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) receivers. The FOE combines a spectrum-based frequency offset estimation algorithm as a coarse estimator with a frequency offset estimation algorithm using the periodogram as a fine estimator. To establish our design methodology, each block of the FOE is rigorously analyzed by using formulas and the minimum fast Fourier transform (FFT) size that generates a frequency spectrum for both the coarse and fine estimators is determined. The coarse estimator's main feature is that all estimation processes are carried out in the frequency domain, which yields convergence more than five times faster than that of conventional estimators. The estimation frequency range of the entire FOE is more than 1.8 times wider than that of conventional FOEs. Experiments on coherent optical 64-ary QAM (64-QAM) reveal that frequency offset estimation can be achieved under a frequency offset value greater than the highest value of the conventional estimation range.

One of the procedures for increasing the number of multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) branches without increasing the computational cost for MIMO detection or multiplexing is to exploit parallel transmissions by using polarization multiplexing. In this paper the effectiveness of using polarization multiplexing is confirmed under the existence of polarization rotation, which is inevitably present in short-range multi-input and multi-output (SR-MIMO) channels with planar array antennas. It is confirmed that 8×8 SR-MIMO transmission system with polarization multiplexing has 60bit/s/Hz of channel capacity. This paper also shows a model for theoretical cross polarization discrimination (XPD) degradation, which is useful to calculate XPD degradations on diagonal paths.

This paper explores the potential of orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing as a means to enable high-speed wireless transmission. OAM is a physical property of electro-magnetic waves that are characterized by a helical phase front in the propagation direction. Since the characteristic can be used to create multiple orthogonal channels, wireless transmission using OAM can enhance the wireless transmission rate. Comparisons with other wireless transmission technologies clarify that OAM multiplexing is particularly promising for point-to-point wireless transmission. We also clarify three major issues in OAM multiplexing: beam divergence, mode-dependent performance degradation, and reception (Rx) signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) reduction. To mitigate mode-dependent performance degradation we first present a simple but practical Rx antenna design method. Exploiting the fact that there are specific location sets with phase differences of 90 or 180 degrees, the method allows each OAM mode to be received at its high SNR region. We also introduce two methods to address the Rx SNR reduction issue by exploiting the property of a Gaussian beam generated by multiple uniform circular arrays and by using a dielectric lens antenna. We confirm the feasibility of OAM multiplexing in a proof of concept experiment at 5.2 GHz. The effectiveness of the proposed Rx antenna design method is validated by computer simulations that use experimentally measured values. The two new Rx SNR enhancement methods are validated by computer simulations using wireless transmission at 60 GHz.

An S-band linearizer was developed using GaAs MMIC technology. We call it the even-order-distortion-implemented intermodulation distortion controller (EODIC). EODIC uses even-order intermodulation distortion (IM) components in the second harmonic frequency band to control its IM components in the fundamental frequency band. EODIC is a suitable tool to compensate near-saturated high power amplifiers (HPAs). We developed an EODIC using MMIC technology. This paper describes the principle of EODIC and then introduces the EODIC MMIC in detail. This paper also presents the IM reduction performance of an EODIC in a near-saturated HPA.

This paper describes a miniaturized in-phase power divider with a DC block function. We first propose three types of miniaturized in-phase power dividers composed of two distributed transmission lines, a resistor, and three capacitors to function as a DC block. Then, we use a simulation to compare the dividers. The simulation results show that, by properly selecting circuit configuration, we both achieve broadband frequency characteristics and miniaturize circuitry as compared to the conventional Wilkinson power divider with two DC block capacitors. Finally, an experimental UHF power divider fabricated to test the design concept is presented. Over the frequency range from 0.44 to 0.66 GHz, the experimental power divider exhibits power splits of -3.20.2 dB, return losses greater than 20 dB, and isolation between output ports greater than 20 dB.