QPSK-dual carrier modulation for ultra-wideband communication in body area network channels

Abstract

Dual carrier modulation (DCM) using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) improves the performance in multipath fading channels. In the literature DCM is proposed with 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) for ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, with four bits per symbol to keep reliable high date transmission over longer distances. Body area network (BAN) standards address transmission reliability more than data rate. UWB is one of the physical layers proposed in BAN standards. In this study, DCM is used with quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) instead of 16QAM to have better performance in reliable transmission. The performance of QPSK-DCM is analyzed and compared with 16QAM-DCM, QPSK-OFDM, and 16QAM-OFDM in a wireless body area network channel. These simulation results are given as bit error rate (BER) versus signal to noise ratio per bit (Eb/N0 ) graphs. Additionally, derivations of theoretical BER ? Eb/N0 performances of QPSK-OFDM and 16QAM-DCM in an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel are given.