An analytical framework for ultra-wideband communications over IEEE 802.15.4a channels

Ultra-wideband (UWB) communications exhibit many unique characteristics, one of which is the random clustering phenomenon in the resolved channel multipaths. The randomness in path arrivals will, however, make exact performance analysis quite challenging. In this paper, an analytical framework for precise performance characterization of communications over the generic IEEE 802.15.4a channel structure is developed. The key idea is to capture the average effect of the cluster and ray arrival processes through the extended density functions, which can then be shown to be useful in deriving various channel statistical quantities of interests, e.g., the channel second-order and fourth-order cross moments. Applications of obtaining the average tap energy as well as the amount of fading for IEEE 802.15.4a channel models are demonstrated. Agreements between the analytical and simulation results hence verify the value of the established framework.