Performance of UWB-IR with polarity randomization and interleaved coding-modulation on multipath fading channels

This paper deals with new methods of protection against errors for ultra-wideband impulse radio (UWB-IR) systems operating in severe multipath environments. The proposed and investigated techniques include interleaved coding-modulation (ICM) and polarity randomization applied in combination with frame repetition, bit repetition or superorthogonal convolutional coding. The performance of the methods is evaluated with the use of a realistic UWB channel model that has been recently proposed by the IEEE. Our UWB-IR system incorporates a differential autocorrelation receiver allowing for simplified hardware architecture. In order to provide accurate characterization of the UWB-IR system, the distortions introduced by amplifiers, filters and antennas are taken into account. Our results show that application of the proposed methods may lead to significant BER performance improvements.