A W-Band Communication and Sensing Convergence System Enabled by Single OFDM Waveform

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Wireless Communications
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Future wireless systems require integrated communication and sensing capabilities.
• Millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies offer high bandwidth for advanced applications.
• Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a key waveform for modern wireless systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a converged millimeter-wave system for simultaneous communication and sensing.
• To propose a novel method for extending the sensing range beyond the cyclic prefix interval (CPI).
• To evaluate the performance of the proposed converged system at 97 GHz.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a single orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform for both communication and sensing.
• Implemented a novel zero-delay shift method for received echoes to extend sensing range.
• Conducted simulations and proof-of-concept experiments using a W-band heterodyne structure at 97 GHz with a 3.9 GHz bandwidth 16-QAM OFDM waveform.

Main Results:

• Achieved a range resolution of 0.042 m and a speed resolution of 0.79 m/s with an extended sensing range.
• Demonstrated a bit-error-rate (BER) of 10^-2, below the forward error-correction threshold, for the communication aspect.
• Experimental results closely matched simulation predictions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed converged millimeter-wave system effectively integrates communication and sensing functionalities.
• The novel zero-delay shift method successfully extends the sensing range beyond the CPI.
• The system demonstrates high performance in both sensing resolution and communication reliability, paving the way for future wireless convergence applications.