Filter-Banks for Ultra-Wideband for Communications, Sensing, and Localization

Abstract: Recently, filter-bank multicarrier spread spectrum (FBMC-SS) has been proposed as a candidate waveform for ultra-wideband (UWB) communications, sensing, and localization. It has been noted that FBMC-SS is a perfect match to this application, leading to a trivial method of matching to the required spectral mask at different regions of the world. FBMC-SS also allows easy rejection of high-power interfering signals that may appear over different parts of the UWB spectral band. Moreover, passing the received signal through a matched filter provides precise information for sensing and localization. In this paper, we concentrate on the use of staggered multitone spread spectrum (SMT-SS) for UWB communications. SMT makes use of offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM) to transmit data symbols over overlapping subcarrier bands. This form of FBMC-SS is well-suited to UWB communications because it has good spectral efficiency and a flat power spectral density (PSD), resulting in good utilization of the UWB spectral mask.