The field of smart antenna technology or more generally, space-time processing, is rapidly becoming one of the most promising areas for the improvement of the capacity of mobile communication systems. It is especially in the context of the development of the first practical third generation mobile communication systems that space-time processing is attracting increased interest from both academic and industrial circles. It is with this background in mind that this tutorial is presented. Specifically, some of the most basic questions relating to the use of space-time processing in CDMA based third generation mobile communication systems is addressed, in addition to presenting some models for the integration of space-time processing, error correction coding and multiuser detection techniques.

The tutorial is aimed at two groups. Firstly, all the necessary background information and analytic tools required by research students and engineers to become proficient in the analysis of space-time processing systems are discussed. Furthermore, the tutorial presents comprehensive introductions into the topics of space-time coding and multiuser detection. As the main focus of the tutorial is on space-time processing techniques, these topics are presented in the context of designing a mobile communication systems where the three core areas of spatial processing, coding and multiuser detection is to be integrated in an optimum way. Secondly, the tutorial will prove to be a valuable guide to design engineers enabling them to understand the implications of adding space-time processing systems to CDMA based communication systems. Specifically, the tutorial will help design engineers to make decisions as to where and when which type of space-time processing technique will yield the largest gains in system performance. Furthermore, several issues relating to the implementation of smart antenna systems are discussed in detail.

As a supplement to the tutorial the book "Space-time Processing for CDMA Mobile Communications", Kluwer Academic Publishers, will be used for reference purposes. In covering the vast topic of space-time processing, this books concentrates mainly on three aspects. In Chapters 2 to 4, extensive background information on cellular systems, basic antenna array theory, channel impairments and space-time channel models are presented. Together these chapters give the reader all the necessary background information required to understand specific smart antenna techniques as well as the derivation of the BER performance of these techniques in

cellular environments. Chapter 5 focuses specifically on smart antenna techniques. The four main smart antenna techniques covered are adaptive beamforming systems, transmit and receive diversity systems, sectorization and switched beam antennas. With this background mastered, the reader should be in a position to derive the theoretical performance of various space-time processing systems as used in cellular environments. Thus, in Chapter 6 the performance of basic space-time processors such as beamformers, diversity and combined diversity and beamforming systems are derived as an introduction into the theoretical evaluation of space-time processors. These concepts are then extended in Chapters 7 and 8 to include advanced space-time processors utilizing multiuser detection and space-time coding.

The book is underpinned by an extensive simulation program, called the WCDMA Simulation Environment, written in Matlab. The simulation code is available with the book, as well as on the Matlab web site and implements both the uplink and the downlink of a UMTS-like communication system. The reader is provided the option to simulate the system performance using a variety of channel models as well as space-time receiver structures. For example, the user can select an UMTS Indoor Channel with transmit and receive diversity, turbo coding and multiuser detection in one simulation. Clearly this is a very powerful tool and the reader is encouraged to use this simulation package to explore the theoretical concepts discussed in the Book and space-time concepts in general.

Biography

Received the B.Eng, M. Eng cum laude and D.Eng degrees from the Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Following two years in the research labs of Alcatel Altech Telecoms, he joined the University of Pretoria as Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

In 1996 to 1999 he was Director of the Alcatel Research Unit for Wireless Access (ARUWA) at the University of Pretoria. During 1995 he has been a Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science post-doctoral fellow at the Yokohama National University.

Dr. van Rooyen has been chairman of the Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Spread Spectrum Techniques and Applications (ISSSTA'98) and has served as session chairman at various international conferences.

He has published a number of papers in the areas of digital communications and smart antennas and is the co-author of patents in digital communications. Dr. van Rooyen co-edited a book entitled "CDMA Techniques for 3rd Generation Mobile Systems". He also co-authored the book "Space-time processing for CDMA mobile communications". Dr. van Rooyen is founder and CEO of Ronin Wireless, a technology company that focuses on the provision of complete 3G and enhanced 2G+ technology.