Hardware simulator: Digital block design for time-varying MIMO channels with TGn model B test

A hardware simulator facilitates the test and validation cycles by replicating channel artifacts in a controllable and repeatable laboratory environment. Thus, it makes possible to ensure the same test conditions in order to compare the performance of various equipments. This paper presents new frequency domain and time domain architectures of the digital block of a hardware simulator of MIMO propagation channels. The two architectures are tested with WLAN 802.11ac standard, in indoor environment, using time-varying TGn 802.11n channel model B. After the description of the general characteristics of the hardware simulator, the new architectures of the digital block are presented and designed on a Xilinx Virtex-IV FPGA. Their accuracy and latency are analyzed.

[1]  Matthias Pätzold,et al.  Design of Measurement-Based Stochastic Wideband MIMO Channel Simulators , 2009, GLOBECOM 2009 - 2009 IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference.

[2]  Ahmed M. Eltawil,et al.  Optimizations of a MIMO Relay Network , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing.

[3]  Preben E. Mogensen,et al.  A stochastic MIMO radio channel model with experimental validation , 2002, IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun..

[4]  G. El Zein,et al.  Characterization and modeling of the MIMO propagation channel: an overview , 2005, The European Conference on Wireless Technology, 2005..

[5]  Ghaïs El Zein,et al.  On MIMO Channel Characterization for Future Wireless Communication Systems , 2008 .

[6]  Alister G. Burr,et al.  Survey of Channel and Radio Propagation Models for Wireless MIMO Systems , 2007, EURASIP J. Wirel. Commun. Netw..

[7]  E. Ayanoglu,et al.  A MIMO System With Multifunctional Reconfigurable Antennas , 2006, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[8]  Patrick Murphy,et al.  A Hardware Testbed for the Implementation and Evaluation of MIMO Algorithms , 2003, MWCN.

[9]  Ashutosh Sabharwal,et al.  An FPGA based rapid prototyping platform for MIMO systems , 2003, The Thrity-Seventh Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems & Computers, 2003.

[10]  Gheorghe Zaharia,et al.  Improved frequency domain architecture for the digital block of a hardware simulator for MIMO radio channels , 2011, ISSCS 2011 - International Symposium on Signals, Circuits and Systems.

[11]  Ghaïs El Zein,et al.  Design of the Digital Block of a Hardware Simulator for MIMO Radio Channels , 2006, 2006 IEEE 17th International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications.

[12]  W. C. Jakes,et al.  Microwave Mobile Communications , 1974 .

[13]  Bruce F. Cockburn,et al.  A Single FPGA Filter-Based Multipath Fading Emulator , 2009, GLOBECOM 2009 - 2009 IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference.

[14]  Ahmed M. Eltawil,et al.  Design and Implementation of a Scalable Channel Emulator for Wideband MIMO Systems , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.

[15]  V. Erceg,et al.  TGn Channel Models , 2004 .

[16]  Ghaïs El Zein,et al.  Hardware Simulator for MIMO Radio Channels: Design and Features of the Digital Block , 2008, 2008 IEEE 68th Vehicular Technology Conference.