Joint Estimation of TOA and PPM Symbols Using Sub-Nyquist Sampled IR-UWB Signal

Impulse radio ultra wideband (UWB) signals are used in various applications which require joint localization and communication. Due to the large bandwidth of the UWB signal, the estimation of time of arrival (TOA) and data symbols requires high sampling rates. This letter describes a sub-Nyquist rate receiver, which can jointly estimate TOA and data symbols. We first represent the received UWB signal in a new domain in which it is sparse. Then, we design physical layer waveforms and estimation algorithms to exploit this sparsity for joint estimation of TOA and pulse position modulation data symbols. The performance of the receiver is compared against the maximum likelihood (ML)-based receiver using an IEEE 802.15.4a CM1 line of sight UWB channel model. The proposed algorithm yields performance similar to the ML-based algorithms with only a fraction of sampling rate at high SNRs (> 25 dB).