Impact of RF front-end nonlinearity on WSN Communications

In this paper, we study the impact of RF-front end nonlinearity on the performance of wireless sensor networks (WSN). More specifically, we investigate the problem of interference caused by intermodulation between in-band interferers. We analyze this problem using an enhanced model of signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) that includes an interference term due to intermodulation. Using a WSN simulator and the selectivity and the third-order input intercept point (IIP₃) specifications of a radio transceiver, we show that the new SINR model provides helpful information for the analysis of intermodulation problems caused by in-band signals in IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs.