CAMDF based synchronization for IEEE 802.15.4 IR-UWB systems in rich scattering environments

Wireless communication based on impulse-radio ultra-wideband technology can be basically characterized by a high bandwidth, a low power spectral density and its coexistence capability. Nevertheless, the synchronization of impulse-radio ultra-wideband systems in multipath environments is still a demanding task. In this paper, the synchronization performance of the IEEE 802.15.4 impulse-radio ultra-wideband physical layer is analyzed. Based on channel measurement campaigns, which have been performed in industrial environments, the performance in terms of packet error rate and coverage range is evaluated. A novel synchronization approach based on circular average magnitude difference functions (CAMDF) is presented. The main idea of this approach is to preselect the correlation window by CAMDF calculations. This reduces the fault detection ratio and thus increases system reliability. Apart from the CAMDF based synchronization procedure, the analysis involves the impact of both a fine and coarse synchronization procedure.