Polarization measurements in a UWB multipath channel

The polarization effects in an ultra-wideband (UWB) propagation channel can be studied with arrays of propagation measurements. An approach to estimate the polarization is presented for the single-path channel. For the multi-path channel, an array signal processing algorithm (the sensor-CLEAN algorithm) was applied to array measurement data to decompose a received waveform with a dense multi-path profile into its component single-path signals. This algorithm was tested on a 3 × 3 × 3 array of UWB propagation measurements for three receiving antenna orientations. An estimation algorithm was constructed to characterize time-of-arrival, angle-of-arrival, waveform shape and polarization of each resolvable waveform in the composite received signal. A modified channel propagation model was proposed to include the polarization characteristics. The suggested channel model with estimated parameters was applied to estimate the received waveform for a different antenna orientation. The estimated waveform was compared with a measured waveform to verify the polarization estimation algorithm and the modified channel model including polarization characteristics.