Time domain synchronous orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (TDS-OFDM) has higher spectral efficiency than the standard cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) OFDM by replacing the random CP with the known training sequence (TS), which could be also used for synchronization and channel estimation. However, TDS-OFDM requires suffers from performance loss over fading channels due to the iterative interference cancellation has to be used to remove the mutual interferences between the TS and the useful data. To solve this problem, the novel TS based OFDM transmission scheme, referred to as the unified time-frequency OFDM (UTF-OFDM), is proposed in which the time-domain TS and the frequency-domain pilots are carefully designed to naturally avoid the interference from the TS to the data without any reconstruction. The proposed UTF-OFDM based flexible frame structure supports effective channel estimation and reliable channel equalization, while imposing a significantly lower complexity than the TDS-OFDM system at the cost of a slightly reduced spectral efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed UTF-OFDM substantially outperforms the existing TDS-OFDM, in terms of the system's achievable bit error rate.

This letter presents the ideas and methods of the winning solution* for the Kaggle Algorithmic Trading Challenge. This analysis challenge took place between 11th November 2011 and 8th January 2012, and 264 competitors submitted solutions. The objective of this competition was to develop empirical predictive models to explain stock market prices following a liquidity shock. The winning system builds upon the optimal composition of several models and a feature extraction and selection strategy. We used Random Forest as a modeling technique to train all sub-models as a function of an optimal feature set. The modeling approach can cope with highly complex data having low Maximal Information Coefficients between the dependent variable and the feature set and provides a feature ranking metric which we used in our feature selection algorithm.

We propose a novel network traffic matrix decomposition method named Stable Principal Component Pursuit with Frequency-Domain Regularization (SPCP-FDR), which improves the Stable Principal Component Pursuit (SPCP) method by using a frequency-domain noise regularization function. An experiment demonstrates the feasibility of this new decomposition method.

We report a trial of 100-GS/s optical quantization with 5-bit resolution using soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) and spectral compression. We confirm that 100-GS/s 5-bit optical quantization is realized to quantize a 5.0-GHz sinusoid electrical signal in simulation. In order to experimentally verify the possibility of 100-GS/s 5-bit optical quantization, we execute 5-bit optical quantization by using two sampled signals with 10-ps intervals.

In this letter, we prove that for fading multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing networks, a simple fixed rate scheduling scheme with only 1 bit channel state information feedback is capable of achieving the optimal performance in the wideband limit. This result indicates that the complexities of both the feedback and channel coding schemes can be reduced with nearly no system performance penalty in wideband wireless communication environments.

A large-range switchable RF signal generator is demonstrated using a triple-wavelength fiber laser with uneven-frequency-spacing. Due to the birefringence characteristics of the triple-wavelength fiber laser, switchable dual-wavelength operation can be obtained by adjusting a polarization controller. Therefore, we can achieve a stable RF signals at microwave or millimeter-wave band.

The quantum dot optical frequency comb laser (QD-CML) is an attractive photonic device for generating a stable emission of fine multiple-wavelength peaks. In the present paper, 1.0-GHz and 10-ps-order short optical pulsation is successfully demonstrated from a hybrid mode-locked QD-CML with an ultrabroadband wavelength tuning range in the T+O band. In addition, 10-GHz high-repetition intensity-stable short optical pulse generation with a high S/N ratio is successfully demonstrated using an external-cavity QD-CML with a 10th-harmonic mode-locking technique.

In this paper, an extended best linear unbiased estimator (EBLUE) based on a periodic training sequence is proposed and investigated for frequency offset estimation in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The structure of EBLUE is general and flexible so it adapts to different complexity constraints, and is attractive in practical implementation. Performance analysis and design strategy of EBLUE are provided to realize the best tradeoff between performance and complexity. Moreover, closed-form results of both weight and performance make EBLUE even more attractive in practical implementation. Both the performance and complexity of EBLUE are compared with other proposals and the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) to demonstrate the merit of EBLUE.

A simple yet effective time domain correlation channel estimation method is proposed for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems over dispersive channels. It is known that the inherent co-channel interference (CCI) and inter-symbol interference (ISI) coexist when the signals propagate through MIMO frequency selective channels, which renders the MIMO channel estimation intractable. By elaborately devising the quasi-orthogonal training sequences between multiple antennas which have constant autocorrelation property with different cyclic shifts in the time domain, the interferences induced by ISI and CCI can be simultaneously maintained at a constant and identical value under quasi-static channels. As a consequence, it is advisable to implement the joint ISI and CCI cancelation by solving the constructed linear equation on the basis of the correlation output with optional correlation window. Finally, a general and simplified closed-form expression of the estimated channel impulse response can be acquired without matrix inversion. Additionally, the layered space-time (LST) minimum mean square error (MMSE) (LST-MMSE) frequency domain equalization is briefly described. We also provide some meaningful discussions on the beginning index of the variable correlation window and on the cyclic shift number of m-sequence of other antennas relative to the first antenna. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed channel estimation approach apparently outperforms the existing schemes with a remarkable reduction in computational complexity.

This letter proposes a multiple symbol differential detection (MSDD) with majority decision method for differentially coded quadrature phase-shift keying (DQPSK) in Rician fading channels. The proposed method shows better BER performance than the conventional MSDD. Simulation results show that the proposed MSDD with a majority decision method improves the system's BER performance for DQPSK signals under the AWGN channel and it approaches asymptotically the theoretical BER performance of coherent detection. Furthermore, the proposed method shows better BER performance under the Rician fading channel with large frequency offsets especially for the range of C/M > 12 dB in comparison with the conventional MSDD.

The cooperative orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) relaying system is widely regarded as a key design for future broadband mobile cellular systems. This paper focuses on channel estimation in such a system that uses amplify-and-forward (AF) as the relaying strategy. In the cooperative AF relaying, the destination requires the individual (disintegrated) channel state information (CSI) of the source-relay (S-R) and relay-destination (R-D) links for optimum combination of the signals received from source and relay. Traditionally, the disintegrated CSIs are obtained with two channel estimators: one at the relay and the other at the destination. That is, the CSI of the S-R link is estimated at relay and passed to destination, and the CSI of the R-D link is estimated at destination with the help of pilot symbols transmitted by relay. In this paper, a new disintegrated channel estimator is proposed; based on an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, the disintegrated CSIs can be estimated solely by the estimator at destination. Therefore, the new method requires neither signaling overhead for passing the CSI of the S-R link to destination nor pilot symbols for the estimation of the R-D link. Computer simulations show that the proposed estimator works well under the signal-to-noise ratios of interest.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is very sensitive to the frequency errors caused by phase noise and Doppler shift. These errors will disturb the orthogonality among subcarriers and cause intercarrier interference (ICI). A simple method to combat ICI is proposed in this letter. The main idea is to map each data symbol onto a couple of subcarriers rather to a single subcarrier. Different from the conventional adjacent coupling and symmetric coupling methods, the frequency diversity can be utilized more efficiently by the proposed adaptive coupling method based on optimal subcarrier spacing. Numerical results show that our proposed method provides a robust signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement over the conventional coupling methods.

Three synchronization issues, i.e., phase, frequency, and symbol time, have to be properly controlled to achieve distributed beamforming gain. In orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, frequency offset in cooperating signals is more important than other synchronization issues since it results in SNR degradation as well as inter-carrier interference (ICI). In this paper, the impact of frequency offset in distributed beamforming is analyzed for OFDM systems. ICI resulting from frequency offset between cooperating signals is also investigated and approximated. Performance degradation due to frequency offset is shown with various numbers of cooperating signals and offset values. We show that frequency offset between cooperating signals is critical in OFDM systems since it leads to interference from the other subcarriers as well as power loss in the desired signal.

To better understand antenna properties in a narrow space such as in a densely-packed device, a circular microstrip antenna in a narrow parallel-plate waveguide is theoretically studied. An analytical expression is derived for the input impedance in a parallel-plate waveguide by using the cavity model with surface admittance on the side wall. The surface admittance is defined by the external magnetic field due to the equivalent magnetic current at the aperture and takes into account the contribution of the parallel plates to the antenna. The magnetic field external to the antenna, that is in the parallel-plate region, is determined by using a dyadic Green's function. The input impedance is then calculated by a basic definition based on the conservation of the complex power. An analytical expression which couples the resonant frequency and the surface susceptance is also formulated. Presented expressions are validated by comparison with experimental results.

This paper presents comprehensive comparisons based on the block error rate (BLER) of open-loop (OL) transmit diversity schemes considering a cubic metric (CM) for single-carrier (SC)-Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) using discrete Fourier transform (DFT)-precoded OFDMA in uplink frequency-selective fading channels. The OL transmit diversity schemes assumed in the paper are space-time block code (STBC), space-frequency block code (SFBC), single-carrier (SC) - SFBC, cyclic delay diversity (CDD), and frequency switched transmit diversity (FSTD) for two antennas and a combination of STBC, SFBC, SC-SFBC and selection transmit diversity including time switched transmit diversity (TSTD) or FSTD for four antennas. We derive the most appropriate OL transmit diversity scheme for SC-FDMA using a frequency domain equalizer (FDE) with QPSK and 16QAM modulations and with various channel coding rates employing turbo coding. We investigate the best OL transmit diversity scheme under various propagation channel conditions including the fading maximum Doppler frequency and root mean square (r.m.s.) delay spread, and the fading correlation between transmitter/receiver antennas.

In this letter, we present a method for improving the front-to-back ratio (FBR) of a broadcast antenna. The digitalization of terrestrial TV demands more efficient channel usage due to the reduction in TV bands after the switch-over. Thus, we designed an antenna with an FBR improved over -45 dB as compared to the -20 to -25 dB FBR range of existing antennas. We show experimentally that this antenna satisfies the required performance.

A fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) is designed for the DigRF interface. The digital part of the PLL mainly consists of a dual-mode phase frequency detector (PFD), a digital counter, and a digital delta-sigma modulator (DSM). The PFD can operate on either 52 MHz or 26 MHz reference frequencies, depending on its use of only the rising edge or both the rising and the falling edges of the reference clock. The interface between the counter and the DSM is designed to give enough timing margin in terms of the signal round-trip delay. The circuitry is implemented using a 90-nm CMOS process technology with a 1.2-V supply, draining 1 mA.

An accurate and rapid synchronization scheme is a prerequisite for achieving high-quality multimedia transmission for wireless handheld terminals, e.g. China multimedia mobile broadcasting (CMMB) system. In this paper, an efficient orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) timing synchronization scheme, which is robust to the doubly selective fading channel, is proposed for CMMB system. TS timing is derived by performing an inverse sliding correlation (ISC) between the segmented Sync sequences in the Beacon, which possesses the inverse conjugate symmetry (ICS) characteristic. The ISC can provide sufficient correlative gain even in the ultra low signal noise ratio (SNR) scenarios. Moreover, a fast fine symbol timing method based on the auto-correlation property of Sync sequence is also presented. According to the detection strategy for the significant channel taps, the specific information about channel profile can be obtained. The advantages of the proposed timing scheme over the traditional ones have been demonstrated through both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.

L-band SiGe HBT frequency-tunable differential amplifiers with dual-bandpass or dual-bandstop responses have been developed for the next generation adaptive and/or reconfigurable wireless radios. Varactor-loaded dual-band resonators comprised of series and parallel LC circuits are employed in the output circuit of differential amplifiers for realizing dual-bandpass responses as well as the series feedback circuit for dual-bandstop responses. The varactor-loaded series and parallel LC resonator can provide a wider frequency separation between dual-band frequencies than the stacked LC resonator. With the use of the varactor-loaded dual-band resonator in the design of the low-noise SiGe HBT differential amplifier with dual-bandpass responses, the lower-band frequency can be varied from 0.58 to 0.77 GHz with a fixed upper-band frequency of 1.54 GHz. Meanwhile, the upper-band frequency can be varied from 1.1 to 1.5 GHz for a fixed lower-band frequency of 0.57 GHz. The dual-band gain was 6.4 to 13.3 dB over the whole frequency band. In addition, with the use of the varactor-loaded dual-band resonator in the design of the low-noise differential amplifier with dual-bandstop responses, the lower bandstop frequency can be varied from 0.38 to 0.68 GHz with an upper bandstop frequency from 1.05 to 1.12 GHz. Meanwhile, the upper bandstop frequency can be varied from 0.69 to 1.02 GHz for a lower bandstop frequency of 0.38 GHz. The maximal dual-band rejection of gain was 14.4 dB. The varactor-loaded dual-band resonator presented in this paper is expected to greatly contribute to realizing the next generation adaptive and/or reconfigurable wireless transceivers.

This paper proposes a spectrum-overlapped resource management (SORM) technique where each user equipment (UE) can ideally obtain the frequency selection diversity gain under multi-user environments. In the SORM technique for cellular systems, under assumption of adopting a soft canceller with minimum mean square error (SC/MMSE) turbo equalizer, an evolved node B (eNB) accepts overlapped frequency resource allocation. As a result, each UE can use the frequency bins having the highest channel gain. However, the SORM becomes non-orthogonal access when the frequency bins having high channel gain for UEs are partially identical. In this case, the inter-user interference (IUI) caused by overlapping spectra among UEs is eventually canceled out by using the SC/MMSE turbo equalizer. Therefore, SORM can achieve better performance than orthogonal access e.g. FDMA when the IUI is completely canceled. This paper demonstrates that SORM has the potential to improve transmission performance, by extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) analysis. Moreover, this paper evaluates the block error rate (BLER) performance of the SORM and the FDMA. Consequently, this paper shows that the SORM outperforms the FDMA.