EM polarization measurement campaign and its applications

Due to a continuous growth of demand in voice and data communications for wireless systems, there is an ongoing challenge to design improved radiowave communication links. Polarization is one of the key properties of electromagnetic waves used in wireless communication and is the least studied in a scattering environment. A detailed understanding of how signals become de-polarized can improve the propagation models and can lead to more accurate propagation predictions and possibly new applications in the use of polarization. Potential beneficiaries of a system design using multi-dimensional polarization constellations to provide maximum polarization separation might include inter-satellite links, WLAN, LEO satellites [BSPP92] [IPLJ81] [SIKA98] and other systems operating in an environment where depolarization is insignificant. To examine the applicability of polarization in wireless communication systems, polarization field measurements were conducted, and the results and analysis are presented in this dissertation. Based on the analysis, a statistical model that characterizes polarization in relation to Poincare sphere is developed and presented. Design and implementation of an N-constellation diversity scheme that provides maximum polarization separation distance is presented. Furthermore, a decision-making algorithm is utilized for detection of the received electric field that selects the minimum Euclidian distance between the transmitter and receivers in Stokes space. The scenario is simulated for an N-constellation scheme for N = 2, 3, 4 based on the design scheme utilizing the developed statistical model and decision-making algorithm and is used to evaluate the detectability and performance comparison for various values of standard deviations.