OFDM and MC-CDMA for Broadband Multi-User Communications, WLANs and Broadcasting

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is a method of digital modulation in which a signal is split into several narrowband channels at different frequencies.

CDMA is a form of multiplexing, which allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimising the use of available bandwidth.  Multiplexing is sending multiple signals or streams of information on a carrier at the same time in the form of a single, complex signal and then recovering the separate signals at the receiving end.

Multi-Carrier (MC) CDMA is a combined technique of Direct Sequence (DS) CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and OFDM techniques.  It applies spreading sequences in the frequency domain. 

Wireless communications has witnessed a tremendous growth during the past decade and further spectacular enabling technology advances are expected in an effort to render ubiquitous wireless connectivity a reality. 

This technical in-depth book is unique in its detailed exposure of OFDM, MIMO-OFDM and MC-CDMA.  A further attraction of the joint treatment of these topics is that it allows the reader to view their design trade-offs in a comparative context.

Divided into three main parts:

Part I provides a detailed exposure of OFDM designed for employment in various applications

Part II is another design alternative applicable in the context of OFDM systems where the channel quality fluctuations observed are averaged out with the aid of frequency-domain spreading codes, which leads to the concept of MC-CDMA

Part III discusses how to employ multiple antennas at the base station for the sake of supporting multiple users in the uplink

• Portrays the entire body of knowledge currently available on OFDM
• Provides the first complete treatment of OFDM, MIMO(Multiple Input Multiple Output)-OFDM and MC-CDMA
• Considers the benefits of channel coding and space time coding in the context of various application examples and features numerous complete system design examples
• Converts the lessons of Shannon’s information theory into design principles applicable to practical wireless systems
• Combines the benefits of a textbook with a research monograph where the depth of discussions progressively increase throughout the book

This all-encompassing self-contained treatment will appeal to researchers, postgraduate students and academics, practising research and development engineers working for wireless communications and computer networking companies and senior undergraduate students and technical managers.

OFDM systems have experienced increased attention in recent years and have found applications in a number of diverse areas including telephone-line based ADSL links, digital audio and video broadcasting systems, and wireless local area networks. OFDM is being considered for the next-generation of wireless systems both with and without direct sequence spreading and the resultant spreading-based multi-carrier CDMA systems have numerous attractive properties.

This volume provides the reader with a broad overview of the research on OFDM systems during their 40-year history.

Part I commences with an easy to read conceptual, rather than mathematical, treatment of the basic design issues of OFDM systems. The discussions gradually deepen to include adaptive single and multi-user OFDM systems invoking adaptive turbo coding.

Part II introduces the taxonomy of multi-carrier CDMA systems and deals with the design of their spreading codes and the objective of minimising their crest factors.

This part also compares the benefits of adaptive modulation and space-time coding with the conclusion that in conjunction with multiple transmitters and receivers the advantages of adaptive modulation gradually erode both in OFDM and MC-CDMA systems.

Part III addresses a host of advanced channel estimation and multi-user detection problems in the context of Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) systems.

Aimed at the mathematically advanced reader, this part provides a range of implementation-ready solutions, performance results and future research issues.

Researchers, advanced students and practising engineers working in wireless communications will all find this valuable text illuminating and informative.

Lajos Hanzo received his degree in electronics in 1976 and his doctorate in 1983. During his career in telecommunications he has held various research and academic posts in Hungary, Germany and the UK. Since 1986 he has been with the  Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK, where he holds the chair in telecommunications. Lajos is also an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer of both the Communications as well as the Vehicular Technology Society and a Fellow of the IEE.

Matthias Münster was awarded the Dipl. Ing. degree by the RWTH Aachen, Germany and after graduation he embarked on postgraduate research at the University of Southampton, where he completed his PhD in mobile communications on 2002. His areas of interest include adaptive multiuser OFDM transmission, wideband channel estimation, multiuser detection and a range of related signal processing aspects.

Byoung-Jo Choi received his BSc and MSc degrees in Electrical Engineering from KAIST, Korea, in 1990 and 1992, respectively. He was awarded his PhD degree in Mobile Communications at the University of Southampton, UK, where he was a postdoctoral research assistant. His current research interests are related to mobile communication systems design with emphasis on adaptive modulation aided OFDM, MC-CDMA and W-CDMA.

Thomas Keller studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, Ecole Superieure d'Ingenieurs en Electronique et Electrotechnique, Paris and the University of Southampton. He completed his PhD at the University of Southampton and his areas of interest include adaptive OFDM transmission, wideband channel estimation, CDMA and error correction coding.