Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.

11 Physical Layer
and Transmitter Measurements
Primer
Primer

Table of Contents
Physical Layer Modulation Formats............................. 25
Introduction..................................................................... 3 Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum..................................25
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).........28
IEEE 802.11 Standard and Formats................................ 4
Data Modulation and Coding (FEC) Combinations............29
IEEE 802.11-1997 or Legacy Mode ..................................4
IEEE 802.11b.....................................................................4
WLAN Operational Process.......................................... 31
IEEE 802.11a.....................................................................5
Anatomy of a WLAN Device.............................................31
IEEE 802.11g.....................................................................6
Establishing Contact........................................................32
IEEE 802.11n.....................................................................6
Synchronization...............................................................33
IEEE 802.11ac...................................................................7
Authentication..................................................................33
Protocol Architecture Overview...................................... 8 Association .....................................................................33
Exchanging Data..............................................................33
Channel Allocations and Spectral Masks.................... 10
Channel Bandwidths........................................................10 Making Transmitter Measurements.............................. 34
Spectral Masks................................................................11 Transmitter Test Conditions .............................................34
Overlapping Channels......................................................12 Transmitter Tests..............................................................34
Country Regulations.........................................................15 Transmitter Power......................................................34
Transmit Spectrum Mask............................................34
Physical Layer (PHY) Frame Structure......................... 17 Spectral Flatness........................................................34
Management Frames.......................................................18 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance.........................35
Control Frames................................................................19 Transmit Center Frequency Leakage..........................35
Data Frames....................................................................19 Transmitter Constellation Error....................................35
802.11b Packet Format...................................................20 Transmitter Modulation Accuracy (EVM) Test..............35
802.11a/g Packet Format................................................21 Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance............................35
802.11n Packet Format...................................................22 802.11 and 802.11b Transmitter Requirements...............36
802.11ac Packet Format.................................................24 802.11a Transmitter Requirements...................................37
802.11g and 802.11n Transmitter Requirements..............38
802.11ac Transmitter Requirements.................................39

Testing Solutions........................................................... 40

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Figure 1. The 802.11 standards have enabled millions of electronic devices to exchange data or connect to the internet wirelessly using radio waves.

Introduction Today, millions of IEEE 802.11 devices are in use around the
world and they operate in the same frequency bands, this
Wi-Fi is a technology that allows many electronic devices to makes the need for their coexistence critical. Even though
exchange data or connect to the internet wirelessly using radio over time older devices will be retired, some consumers and
waves. The Wi-Fi Alliance defines Wi-Fi devices as any businesses will still be using the old standards for years. For
"Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) products that are some businesses the original 802.11b devices meet their
based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' needs and the need to change has not occurred. Wider
(IEEE) 802.11 standards". bandwidth 802.11 deployments must therefore be able
The key advantage of IEEE 802.11 devices is that they allow to "play nicely" with the older standards, both by limiting
less-expensive deployment of Local Area Networks (LANs). their impact on nearby legacy WLANs and by enabling
For places where running cables to every device is not communication with legacy stations.
practical, such as outdoor areas and airports, they can host This primer provides a general overview for each of the
wireless LANs. Products from every brand name can inter- 802.11 standards, their PHY layer characteristics and their
operate at a basic level of service thanks to their products testing requirements. In this document, we use 802.11 and
being designated as "Wi-Fi Certified" by the Wi-Fi Alliance. IEEE 802.11 interchangeably.

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IEEE 802.11 Standard and Formats IEEE 802 Standards

IEEE 802 refers to a family of IEEE standards dealing with
Local Area Networks and Metropolitan Area Networks 802.1 Bridging & Management

(Table 1). The IEEE 802 family of standards is maintained by 802.2 Logical Link Control
the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC). 802.3 Ethernet - CSMA/CD Access Method
An individual Working Group provides the focus for each area. 802.4 Token Passing Bus Access Method

IEEE 802.11 is a set of medium access control (MAC) and 802.5 Token Ring Access Method

physical layer (PHY) specifications for implementing Wireless 802.6 Distributed Queue Dual Bus Access Method
Local Area Network (WLAN) communication. The 802.11 802.7 Broadband LAN
family is a series of over-the-air modulation techniques that 802.8 Fiber Optic
share the same basic protocol (Table 2). These standards 802.9 Integrated Services LAN
provide the basis for wireless network products using the Wi-Fi 802.10 Security
brand. The segment of the radio frequency spectrum used by 802.11 Wireless LAN
802.11 varies between countries.
802.12 Demand Priority Access

IEEE 802.11-1997 or Legacy Mode 802.14 Medium Access Control

802.15 Wireless Personal Area Networks
The original version of the standard IEEE 802.11 was released
802.16 Broadband Wireless Metro Area Networks
in 1997, but is basically obsolete today. It specified bit rates
of 1 or 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s). It specified three 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring

alternative physical layer technologies: Table 1. 802 Family of Standards.

Diffuse infrared operating at 1 Mbit/s

Frequency-hopping spread spectrum operating The DSSS version of legacy 802.11 was rapidly supplemented
at 1 Mbit/s or 2 Mbit/s (and popularized) by the 802.11b amendment in 1999, which
increased the bit rate to 11 Mbit/s. Widespread adoption of
Direct-sequence spread spectrum operating
802.11 networks only occurred after the release of 802.11b.
at 1 Mbit/s or 2 Mbit/s
As a result few networks were implemented using the original
The latter two radio technologies used microwave transmission 802.11-1997 standard. In this document several sections do
over the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) frequency band not provide further detail about the original legacy mode for
at 2.4 GHz. Its specified data rate was to be transmitted via this reason.
infrared (IR) signals or by either frequency hopping or direct-
sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) radio signals. IR remains a IEEE 802.11b
part of the standard but has no actual implementations. 802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and
A weakness of this original specification was that it offered uses the same media access method defined in the original
so many choices that interoperability was sometimes legacy standard. 802.11b products appeared on the market
challenging. It is really more of a "beta-specification" than a in early 2000 and it is a direct extension of the modulation
rigid specification, initially allowing individual product vendors technique defined in the original standard. The dramatic
the flexibility to differentiate their products but with little to no increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original
inter-vendor operability. standard) along with substantial price reductions led to the
rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN
technology.

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IEEE 802.11 PHY Standards

Release Date Standard Frequency Band Bandwidth (MHz) Modulation Advanced Antenna Maximum
(GHz) Technologies Data Rate
1997 802.11 2.4 GHz 20 MHz DSSS, FHSS N/A 2 Mbits/s
1999 802.11b 2.4 GHz 20 MHz DSSS N/A 11 Mbits/s
1999 802.11a 5 GHz 20 MHz OFDM N/A 54 Mbits/s
2003 802.11g 2.4 GHz 20 MHz DSSS, OFDM N/A 542 Mbits/s
2009 802.11n 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz 20 MHz, 40 MHz OFDM MIMO, up to 4 spatial streams 600 Mbits/s
2013 802.11ac 5 GHz 40 MHz, 80 MHz, OFDM MIMO, MU-MIMO, 6.93 Gbits/s
160 MHz up to 8 spatial streams

Table 2. IEEE 802.11 PHY Standards.

One disadvantage of 802.11b devices is that they may have as the effective range of 802.11a is slightly less than that of
interference issues with other products operating in the 802.11b/g. 802.11a signals cannot penetrate as far as those
2.4 GHz band. Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range for 802.11b because they are absorbed more readily by walls
include microwave ovens, cordless phones, Bluetooth and other solid objects in their path and because the path
devices, baby monitors and some amateur radio equipment. loss in signal strength is proportional to the square of the
Interference issues and user density problems within the signal frequency. On the other hand, OFDM has fundamental
2.4 GHz band have become a major issue as the popularity propagation advantages in a high multipath environment,
of Wi-Fi has grown. such as an indoor office, and the higher frequencies enable
the use of smaller antennas with higher RF system gain,
IEEE 802.11a which counteracts the disadvantage of a higher band of
The 802.11a standard was added to the original standard operation. The increased number of usable channels and the
and was ratified in 1999. The 802.11a standard uses the near absence of other interfering systems (microwave ovens,
same core protocol as the original standard and was the first cordless phones, baby monitors) give 802.11a a significant
of the 802.11 family to operate in the 5 GHz band. It uses bandwidth and reliability advantage over 802.11b/g.
a 52-subcarrier orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing Confusion on the release time of 802.11a and 802.11b is
(OFDM) with a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, which common. The 802.11a products started shipping late, lagging
typically yields a throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s. Today, many 802.11b products due to 5 GHz components being more
countries around the world are allowing operation in the 5.47 difficult to manufacture. In addition, first generation product
to 5.725 GHz Band. This will add more channels to the overall performance was poor and plagued with problems. When
5 GHz band enabling significant overall wireless network second generation products started shipping, 802.11a
capacity. 802.11a is not interoperable with 802.11b since was not widely adopted in the consumer space primarily
they operate on different frequency bands. However, most because the less-expensive 802.11b was already widely
enterprise class Access Points have multi-band capability adopted. However, 802.11a later saw significant penetration
today. into enterprise network environments, despite the initial cost
Using the 5 GHz band gives 802.11a a significant advantage, disadvantages, particularly for businesses which required
since the 2.4 GHz ISM band is heavily used. Degradation increased capacity and reliability over 802.11b/g-only
caused by such conflicts can cause frequently dropped networks. Sections in this document often lead with 802.11b
connections and degradation of service. However, the for this reason.
higher 5 GHz frequency also brings a slight disadvantage

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Channel

Tx Rx

Figure 2. MIMO uses multiple antennas to coherently resolve more information than possible using a single antenna.

IEEE 802.11g IEEE 802.11n

The 802.11g standard was rapidly adopted by consumers The 802.11n amendment includes many enhancements
starting in January 2003, well before ratification, due to the that improve WLAN range, reliability, and throughput. At
desire for higher speeds and reductions in manufacturing the physical (PHY) layer, advanced signal processing and
costs. By summer 2003, most dual-band 802.11a/b products modulation techniques have been added to exploit multiple
became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting 802.11a and b/g in a antennas and wider channels. At the Media Access Control
single mobile adapter card or Access Point (AP). (MAC) layer, protocol extensions make more efficient use of
available bandwidth. Together, these High Throughput (HT)
802.11g works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b), but uses
enhancements can boost data rates up to 600 Mbps – more
the same OFDM based transmission scheme as 802.11a. It
than a ten-fold improvement over 54 Mbps 802.11a/g.
operates at a maximum physical layer bit rate of 54 Mbit/s,
exclusive of forward error correction codes. 802.11g hardware 802.11n operates on both the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz bands.
is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware. In an Support for 5 GHz bands is optional. IEEE 802.11n builds on
802.11g network, however, the presence of a 802.11b device previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-
will significantly reduce the speed of the overall 802.11g output (MIMO) and 40 MHz channels to the PHY layer, and
network. frame aggregation to the MAC layer.

Despite its major acceptance, 802.11g suffers from the same Behind most 802.11n enhancements lies the ability to receive
interference as 802.11b in the already crowded 2.4 GHz and/or transmit simultaneously through multiple antennas.
range. Additionally, the success of the standard has caused 802.11n defines many "M x N" antenna configurations,
usage/density problems related to crowding in urban areas. ranging from "1 x 1" to "4 x 4". MIMO uses multiple antennas
To prevent interference, there are only three non-overlapping to coherently resolve more information than possible using
usable channels in the U.S. and other countries with similar a single antenna. One way it provides this is through Spatial
regulations (channels 1, 6, 11, with 25 MHz separation), Division Multiplexing, which spatially multiplexes multiple
and four in Europe (channels 1, 5, 9, 13, with only 20 MHz independent data streams, transferred simultaneously within
separation). Even with such separation, some interference due one spectral channel of bandwidth. MIMO can significantly
to side lobes exists, though it is considerably weaker. increase data throughput as the number of resolved spatial
data streams is increased. Each spatial stream requires a
discrete antenna at both the transmitter and the receiver.

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Figure 3. The broad acceptance and success of 802.11 devices have created the need for new usage models which require higher throughput.

The number of simultaneous data streams is limited by the IEEE 802.11ac

minimum number of antennas in use on both sides of the
The early standards for wireless LAN were designed primarily
link. However, the individual radios often further limit the
to connect a laptop PC in the home or office, and to allow
number of spatial streams that may carry unique data. The
connectivity “on the road”. The broad acceptance and
M x N : Z notation helps identify the capability of a given
success of WLAN has created the need for new usage models
radio. The first number M is the maximum number of transmit
which would require higher throughput, such as:
antennas that can be used by the radio. The second number
N is the maximum number of receive antennas that can be Wireless display
used by the radio. The third number Z is the maximum number
In-home distribution of HDTV and other content
of data spatial streams the radio can use. For example, a radio
that can transmit on two antennas and receive on three, but Rapid upload/download of large files to/from servers
can only send or receive two data streams would be 2 x 3 : 2. Backhaul traffic (mesh, point-to-point, etc.)
Another optional 802.11n feature is 40 MHz channels. Prior Campus and auditorium deployments
802.11 products use channels that are approximately
Manufacturing floor automation
20 MHz wide. 802.11n products have the option to use
20 or 40 MHz wide channels, providing the AP has 40 MHz
capability as well. Channels operating with a bandwidth of
40 MHz provide twice the PHY data rate available over a single
20 MHz channel. The wider bandwidth can be enabled in
either the 2.4 GHz or the 5 GHz mode, but must not interfere
with any other 802.11 or non-802.11 (such as Bluetooth)
system using the same frequencies.

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IEEE 802.11ac (aka VHT, Very High Throughput) is a standard OSI Model
that provide throughput in the 5 GHz band. 802.11ac
leverages 802.11n (and 802.11a) structure where possible. Application
This is advantageous for ensuring backwards compatibility
Data
Network Process to Application
and co-existence and also allows the 802.11ac developers
to focus on the new features that are needed to achieve the
throughput requirements. Data Presentation

Host Layers
Data Representation and Encryption
The 802.11ac specification has expected multi-station WLAN
throughput of at least 1 Gbps and a single link throughput of
at least 500 Mbps. This is accomplished by extending the air Data Session
Internethost Communication
interface concepts embraced by 802.11n:
Wider RF bandwidth (up to 160 MHz)
Segments Transport
More MIMO spatial streams (up to 8) End-to-End Connections and Reliability
Multi-user MIMO
High-density modulation (up to 256-QAM).
Packets Network
Path Determination & IP (Logical Addressing)
The standard was developed from 2011 through 2013 and

Media Layers
approved in January 2014.
All 802.11ac devices are required to support 20, 40, and Frames Data Link
MAC and LLC (Physical addressing)
80 MHz channels and 1 spatial stream, as a phase1 of
deployment. In addition, several features are also defined in
802.11ac phase 2: Physical
Bits
Wider channel bandwidths (80+80 MHz and 160 MHz) Media, Signal, and Binary Transmission

Higher modulation support (optional 256QAM)

Two or more spatial streams (up to 8) Figure 4. The OSI model describes how information moves from an application
program running on one networked computer to an application program running on
Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) another networked computer.

400 ns short guard interval

Space Time Block Coding (STBC) Protocol Architecture Overview
Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) The Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model, or the
OSI model, was developed by the International Organization
802.11ac devices making use of only the mandatory
for Standardization, which uses the abbreviation of ISO. The
parameters (80 MHz bandwidth, 1 spatial stream, and
OSI model is a layered model that describes how information
64-QAM 5/6) are capable of a data rate of approximately 293
moves from an application program running on one networked
Mbps. Devices that take advantage of the phase 2 parameters
computer to an application program running on another
(8 spatial streams, 160 MHz of bandwidth and 256-QAM 5/6
networked computer. In essence, the OSI model prescribes
with a short guard interval) can achieve almost 7 Gbps.
the steps to be used to transfer data over a transmission
medium from one networked device to another. The OSI
model defines the network communications process into
seven separate layers as shown in Figure 4.

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The Physical Layer defines the electrical and physical

specifications for devices. In particular, it defines the
Data Link Layer

LLC
relationship between a device and a transmission medium.

Station Management
The major functions and services performed by the physical
layer are the following:
MAC MAC
Management Establishment and termination of a connection to a
communications medium.
Participation in the process where the communication
Physical Layer

PLCP resources are effectively shared among multiple users.

PHY For example, contention resolution and flow control.
Management Modulation or conversion between the representation
PMD of digital data in user equipment and the corresponding
signals transmitted over a communications channel.
These are signals operating over the physical cabling
Figure 5. The 802.11 standards focus on the Data Link and Physical Layers of the OSI (such as copper and optical fiber) or over a radio link.
reference model.
The Physical layer is divided into three sub layers.
Practical, connectionless LANs began with the pre-IEEE 1. The Physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) acts
Ethernet specification, which is the ancestor of IEEE 802.3. as an adaption layer. The PLCP is responsible for the Clear
The Standard 802.11 covers protocols and operation of Channel Assessment (CCA) mode and building packets for
wireless networks. It only deals with the two lowest layers of different physical layer technologies.
the OSI reference model, the physical layer and the Data Link
2. The Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) layer specifies
layer (or Media Access Control layer). The goal is for all the
modulation and coding techniques.
802.11 series of standards to be backward compatible and to
be compatible at the Medium Access Control (MAC) or Data 3. The PHY management layer takes care of the management
Link layer. Each of the 802.11 standards should therefore only issues like channel tuning.
differ in physical layer (PHY) characteristics (Figure 5). The Station Management sub-layer is responsible for
The MAC layer provides the functional and procedural means coordination of interactions between the MAC and
to transfer data between network entities and to detect PHY layers.
and possibly correct errors that may occur in the physical This primer focuses on the PHY layer as this is where the
layer. It provides access to contention based and contention- design requirements for the device hardware using the
free traffic on different kinds of physical layers. In the different techniques of the 802.11 standards are realized.
MAC layer the responsibilities are divided into the MAC
sub-layer and the MAC management sub-layer. The MAC
sub-layer defines access mechanisms and packet formats.
The MAC management sub-layer defines power management,
security and roaming services.

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Channel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Center Frequency (GHz) 2.412 2.417 2.422 2.427 2.432 2.437 2.442 2.447 2.452 2.457 2.462 2.467 2.472 2.484

22 MHz

Figure 6. The 2.4 GHz band is divided into 14 overlapping channels.

Channel Allocations and Spectral Channel Bandwidths

Masks Early 802.11 products use channels that are approximately
20 MHz wide. In the US, 802.11b/g radios use one of eleven
The 802.11b, 802.11g, and the low-frequency part of the
20 MHz channels (three non-overlapping: 1, 6, 11) within
802.11n standards utilize the 2.400 – 2.500 GHz spectrum
the 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band. When the OFDM PHY
located in the ISM band. The 802.11a, 802.11n and
was introduced to 802.11, the channel bandwidth was
802.11ac standards use the more heavily regulated 
20 MHz with later amendments adding support for 5 and
4.915 – 5.825 GHz band. These are often referred to as
10 MHz bandwidths. 802.11a radios use one of twelve
the "2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands". Each of these
non-overlapping 20 MHz channels in the 5 GHz Unlicensed
spectrums are sub-divided into channels with a center
National Information Infrastructure (UNII) band. 802.11n
frequency and bandwidth, similar to the way commercial
products can use 20 or 40 MHz wide channels in either the
spectrums are sub-divided.
ISM or UNII band.
The 2.4 GHz band is divided into 14 channels spaced 
5 MHz apart, beginning with channel 1 which is centered
on 2.412 GHz (Figure 6). The channel numbering of the 
5.725 – 5.875 GHz spectrum is less intuitive due to the
differences in regulations between countries.

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Transmit Spectrum Mask Unfiltered Sinx/x

0 dBr

-30 dBr

-50 dBr

fc -22 MHz fc -11 MHz fc fc +11 MHz fc +22 MHz

Figure 7. Spectral mask for 802.11b standard.

802.11ac includes support for 80 MHz bandwidth in phase1 Spectral Masks

and 160 MHz bandwidth in phase 2. The 802.11ac device is
The 802.11 standard specifies a spectral mask which defines
required to support 20, 40, and 80 MHz channel bandwidth
the permitted power distribution across each channel. The
reception and transmission. The 80 MHz channel consists
spectral mask requires the signal be attenuated to certain
of two adjacent, non-overlapping 40 MHz channels. The
levels (from its peak amplitude) at specified frequency offsets.
160 MHz channels are formed by two 80 MHz channels which
Figure 7 shows the spectral mask used for the 802.11b
may be adjacent (contiguous) or non-contiguous. With the
standard. While the energy falls off very quickly from its peak,
newer standards, they are allowed to use a wider bandwidth
it is interesting to note the RF energy that is still being radiated
to boost throughput.
at other channels. This will be discussed further in our next
However, it is important to realize that the 2.4 and 5 GHz section.
frequency bands did not get any bigger. Products from all
of the 802.11 standards are required to share the same
bandwidth. Only if there is spectrum available can the wider
bandwidths be used. This is why many 802.11n WLANs may
end up using 40 MHz channels only in the 5 GHz band.

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Spectral Mask for 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz Channels

0 dBr

-20 dBr

-28 dBr

-40 dBr

AB C D
Channel Size A B C D
20 MHz 9 MHz 11 MHz 20 MHz 30 MHz
40 MHz 19 MHz 21 MHz 40 MHz 60 MHz
80 MHz 39 MHz 41 MHz 80 MHz 120 MHz
160 MHz 79 MHz 81 MHz 160 MHz 240 MHz

Figure 8. OFDM spectral mask used for 802.11a/g/n/ac.

The 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n and 802.11ac standards that in Figure 6 and from the 802.11 spectral masks it is apparent
use the OFDM encoding scheme, have a spectral mask that that plenty of RF energy is going into adjacent channels. Since
looks completely different (Figure 8). OFDM allows for a more the spectral mask only defines power output restrictions at
dense spectral efficiency, thus it gets higher data throughput specific frequency offsets, it is often assumed that the energy
than the BPSK/QPSK techniques in 802.11b. of the channel extends no further than these limits. It is more
correct to say that, given the separation between channels,
Overlapping Channels the overlapping signal on any channel should be sufficiently
The 802.11 use of the term “channel” can often lead to attenuated to minimally interfere with a transmitter on any
confusion. For radio and TV channels, they are allocated other channel.
specific frequency spectrums in which to operate. As shown

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Non-Overlapping Channels for 2.4 GHz WLAN

802.11b (DSSS) channel width 22 MHz

2.4 GHz 2.4835 GHz 2.5 GHz

Channel 1 Channel 6 Channel 11 Channel 14

2412 MHz 2437 MHz 2462 MHz 2484 MHz

802.11g/n (OFDM) 20 MHz channel width - 16.25 MHz used by subcarriers

2.4 GHz 2.4835 GHz 2.5 GHz

Channel 1 Channel 6 Channel 11

2412 MHz 2437 MHz 2462 MHz

802.11n (OFDM) 40 MHz channel width - 33.75 MHz used by subcarriers

2.4 GHz 2.4835 GHz 2.5 GHz

Channel 3
2422 MHz

Figure 9. For the 802.11 standards there are only a few channels that are considered non-overlapping.

Confusion often arises over the amount of channel separation this is not the case. Figure 9 highlights the potential non-
required between transmitting devices. The 802.11b standard overlapping channels in the 2.4 GHz bands. Although the
was based on DSSS modulation and utilized a channel "non-overlapping" channels are limited to spacing or product
bandwidth of 22 MHz, resulting in three "non-overlapping" density, the concept has some merit in limited circumstances.
channels (1, 6 and 11). 802.11g was based on OFDM Special care must be taken to adequately space AP cells
modulation and utilized a channel bandwidth of 20 MHz. since overlap between the channels may cause unacceptable
This occasionally leads to the belief that four "non-overlapping" degradation of signal quality and throughput.
channels (1, 5, 9 and 13) exist for 802.11g, although

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Multiple Overlapping Channels

-20 dBr
-28 dBr

-40 dBr

Frequency (MHz)
-30 -20 -11 -9 fc 9 11 20 30
22 MHz

Channel 4 Channel 8

Channel 3 Channel 7 Channel 11

Channel 2 Channel 6 Channel 10

Channel 1 Channel 5 Channel 9

2.400 2.412 2.417 2.422 2.427 2.432 2.437 2.442 2.447 2.452 2.457 2.462 2.467 2.472

Figure 10. RF energy "bleeds" into frequencies for several adjacent channels, resulting in access points that may actually consume multiple overlapping channels.

ISM use is further complicated by 802.11b/g/n channel this scarcity by consuming 9 channels: the center frequency
overlap. When an 802.11b/g/n radio transmits, the modulated plus four channels on the left and four on the right. Finding
signal is designed to fall within its bandwidth from the channel adjacent unused channels in the congested ISM band is rare;
center frequency. However, RF energy ends up "bleeding" thus, 40 MHz 802.11n operation would very likely interfere
into frequencies for several adjacent channels. As a result, with existing 802.11b/g APs. To mitigate this, 802.11n APs
each 802.11b/g/n access point actually consumes multiple using 40 MHz channels are required to listen for legacy (or
overlapping channels (see Figure 10). Transmitting on a other non-40 MHz HT) devices and provide coexistence
40 MHz 802.11n channel in the ISM band would exacerbate mechanisms.

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Country Regulations
802.11 2.4 GHz Channels Available by Country
Availability of 802.11 channels is regulated by each
country, constrained in part by how they each allocate Channel Center Frequency North Japan Most of
(MHz) America the World
radio spectrum to various services (Table 3 and Table 4).
For example, Japan permits the use of all 14 channels for 1 2412 Yes Yes Yes
802.11b, and 1–13 for 802.11g/n-2.4. Other countries such 2 2417 Yes Yes Yes
as Spain initially allowed only channels 10 and 11, and France 3 2422 Yes Yes Yes
only allowed 10, 11, 12 and 13. They now allow channels 4 2427 Yes Yes Yes
1 through 13.  North America and some Central and South 5 2432 Yes Yes Yes
American countries allow only 1 through 11. In the US,
6 2437 Yes Yes Yes
802.11 standards operating in the ISM band may be operated
7 2442 Yes Yes Yes
without a license, as allowed in Part 15 of the FCC Rules and
8 2447 Yes Yes Yes
Regulations.
9 2452 Yes Yes Yes
The regulatory parameters are sent in the PHY Management
10 2457 Yes Yes Yes
Layer and are used along with the channel starting
11 2462 Yes Yes Yes
frequency given in the Country Information and Regulatory
12 2467 No Yes Yes
Classes Annex of the 802.11 standard. IEEE uses the
phrase “regdomain” to refer to a legal regulatory region. 13 2472 No Yes Yes

Different countries define different levels of allowable 14 2484 No 11b only No

transmitter power, time that a channel can be occupied, and Table 3. 802.11 2.4 GHz band available channels by country (22 MHz wide).
different available channels. Domain codes are specified for the
United States, Canada, ETSI (Europe), Spain, France, Japan,
and China. The regdomain setting is often made difficult or
impossible to change so that the end users do not conflict
with local regulatory agencies such as the USA's Federal
Communications Commission.

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802.11 5 GHz Channels Available by Country

Channel Center Frequency U.S. Europe Japan Singapore China Israel Korea Turkey Australia South Brazil
(MHz) Africa
40/20 MHz 40/20 MHz 40/20 MHz 10 MHz 40/20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 40/20 MHz 40/20 MHz 40/20 MHz 40/20 MHz

183 4915 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No

184 4920 No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No

185 4925 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
187 4935 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
188 4940 No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
189 4945 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
192 4960 No No Yes No No No No No No No No No
196 4980 No No Yes No No No No No No No No No
7 5035 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
8 5040 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
9 5045 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
11 5055 No No No Yes No No No No No No No No
12 5060 No No No No No No No No No No No No
16 5080 No No No No No No No No No No No No
34 5170 No No client only No Yes No Yes Yes Indoors No Indoors Indoors
36 5180 Yes Indoors Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Indoors Yes Indoors Indoors
38 5190 No No client only No Yes No Yes Yes Indoors No Indoors Indoors
40 5200 Yes Indoors Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Indoors Yes Indoors Indoors
42 5210 No No client only No Yes No Yes Yes Indoors No Indoors Indoors
44 5220 Yes Indoors Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Indoors Yes Indoors Indoors
46 5230 No No client only No Yes No Yes Yes Indoors No Indoors Indoors
48 5240 Yes Indoors Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Indoors Yes Indoors Indoors
52 5260 DFS Indoors/DFS/ TPC DFS/TPC No Yes DFS/TPC Yes Yes Indoors DFS/TPC Indoors Indoors
56 5280 DFS Indoors/DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No Yes DFS/TPC Yes Yes Indoors DFS/TPC Indoors Indoors
60 5300 DFS Indoors/DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No Yes DFS/TPC Yes Yes Indoors DFS/TPC Indoors Indoors
64 5320 DFS Indoors/DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No Yes DFS/TPC Yes Yes Indoors DFS/TPC Indoors Indoors
100 5500 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
104 5520 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
108 5540 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
112 5560 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
116 5580 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
120 5600 No DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC No Yes DFS
124 5620 No DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC No Yes DFS
128 5640 No DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No Yes DFS/TPC No Yes DFS
132 5660 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No No DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
136 5680 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No No DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
140 5700 DFS DFS/TPC DFS/TPC No No No No No DFS/TPC DFS/TPC Yes DFS
149 5745 Yes SRD (25 mW) No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
153 5765 Yes SRD (25 mW) No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
157 5785 Yes SRD (25 mW) No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
161 5805 Yes SRD (25 mW) No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
165 5825 Yes SRD (25 mW) No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes

Table 4. 802.11 5 GHz band available channels by country. Center Frequencies are given for 20 MHz or 40 MHz wide channels. 80 MHz channels are built with adjacent 40 MHz
channels. 160 MHz channels are built with adjacent 80 MHz channels. Center Frequencies for 80 MHz and 160 MHz will differ from the ones provided here.
Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) - The objective is to achieve maximum system spectral Transmit Power Control (TPC) - The intelligent selection of transmit power in a communication
efficiency in bit/s/Hz/site by means of frequency reuse, but still assure a certain grade of service by system to achieve good performance within the system.
avoiding co-channel interference and adjacent channel interference among nearby channels. Short Range Devices (SRD) – Regulation of the allowed power level of devices using this channel.
Indoors – Channel is allowed for indoor use only. Yes/No – Each country defines which channels are allowed.
Client Only – Channel is allowed when used in a client mode only.

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

Preamble | Header Payload Data

Figure 11. Each PHY packet contains a preamble, header and payload data.

Physical Layer (PHY) Frame Structure ToDS and FromDS: Each is one bit in size. They indicate
whether a data frame is headed for a distribution system.
The 802.11 Physical Layer uses bursted transmissions
Control and management frames set these values to zero.
or packets. Each packet contains a Preamble, Header
All the data frames will have one of these bits set. However
and Payload Data (Figure 11). The Preamble allows the
communication within an IBSS network always sets these
receiver to obtain time and frequency synchronization and
bits to zero.
estimate channel characteristics for equalization. It is a bit
sequence that receivers watch for to lock onto the rest of More Fragments: The More Fragments bit is set when
the transmission. The Header provides information about the a packet is divided into multiple frames for transmission.
packet configuration, such as format, data rates, etc. Finally Every frame except the last frame of a packet will have this
the Payload Data contains the user’s payload data being bit set.
transported. Retry: Sometimes frames require retransmission, and for
The 802.11 standards define "frame" types for use in this there is a Retry bit which is set to one when a frame is
transmission of data as well as management and control of resent. This aids in the elimination of duplicate frames.
wireless links. At the top level these frames are divided into Power Management: This bit indicates the power
three functions: Management Frames, Control Frames and management state of the sender after the completion of a
Data Frames. Each frame consists of an MAC header, payload frame exchange. Access points are required to manage the
and frame check sequence (FCS). Some frames may not connection and will never set the power saver bit.
have a payload. The first two bytes of the MAC header form
More Data: The More Data bit is used to buffer frames
a frame control field specifying the form and function of the
received in a distributed system. The access point uses this
frame. The frame control field is further subdivided into the
bit to facilitate stations in power saver mode. It indicates
following sub-fields:
that at least one frame is available and addresses all
Protocol Version: Two bits representing the protocol stations connected.
version. Currently used protocol version is zero. Other
WEP: The WEP bit is modified after processing a frame. It
values are reserved for future use.
is toggled to one after a frame has been decrypted or if no
Type: Two bits identifying the type of WLAN frame. encryption is set it will have already been one.
Control, Data and Management are various frame types
Order: This bit is only set when the "strict ordering" delivery
defined in IEEE 802.11.
method is employed. Frames and fragments are not always
Sub Type: Four bits providing addition discrimination sent in order as it causes a transmission performance
between frames. Type and Sub type work together to penalty.
identify the exact frame.

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Primer

The next two bytes are reserved for the Duration ID field. This Association Request Frame: Sent from a station
field can take one of three forms: Duration, Contention-Free it enables the access point to allocate resources and
Period (CFP), and Association ID (AID). An 802.11 frame can synchronize. The frame carries information about the
have up to four address fields. Each field can carry a MAC WNIC including supported data rates and the SSID of
address. Address 1 is the receiver, Address 2 is the transmitter, the network the station wishes to associate with. If the
Address 3 is used for filtering purposes by the receiver. request is accepted, the access point reserves memory and
The Sequence Control field is a two-byte section used for establishes an association ID for the WNIC.
identifying message order as well as eliminating duplicate Association Response Frame: Sent from an access
frames. The first 4 bits are used for the fragmentation number point to a station containing the acceptance or rejection to
and the last 12 bits are the sequence number. There is an an association request. If it is an acceptance, the frame will
optional two-byte Quality of Service control field which was contain information such an association ID and supported
added with 802.11e. The Frame Body field is variable in data rates.
size, from 0 to 2304 bytes plus any overhead from security
Beacon Frame: Sent periodically from an access point to
encapsulation and contains information from higher layers.
announce its presence and provide the SSID, and other
The Frame Check Sequence (FCS) is the last four bytes in
parameters for WNICs within range.
the standard 802.11 frame. Often referred to as the Cyclic
Redundancy Check (CRC), it allows for integrity check of Deauthentication Frame: Sent from a station wishing to
retrieved frames. As frames are about to be sent the FCS is terminate connection from another station.
calculated and appended. When a station receives a frame it Disassociation Frame: Sent from a station wishing to
can calculate the FCS of the frame and compare it to the one terminate connection. It's an elegant way to allow the
received. If they match, it is assumed that the frame was not access point to relinquish memory allocation and remove
distorted during transmission. the WNIC from the association table.
Management Frames Probe Request Frame: Sent from a station when it
requires information from another station.
Management Frames allow for the maintenance of
communication. Some common 802.11 subtypes include: Probe Response Frame: Sent from an access point
containing capability information, supported data rates, etc.,
Authentication Frame: 802.11 authentication begins with
after receiving a probe request frame.
the wireless network interface controller (WNIC) sending
an authentication frame to the access point containing its Reassociation Request Frame: A WNIC sends a
identity. With an open system authentication the WNIC only reassociation request when it drops from range of the
sends a single authentication frame and the access point currently associated access point and finds another
responds with an authentication frame of its own indicating access point with a stronger signal. The new access point
acceptance or rejection. With shared key authentication, coordinates the forwarding of any information that may still
after the WNIC sends its initial authentication request be contained in the buffer of the previous access point.
it will receive an authentication frame from the access Reassociation Response Frame: Sent from an access
point containing challenge text. The WNIC sends an point containing the acceptance or rejection to a WNIC
authentication frame containing the encrypted version of reassociation request frame. The frame includes information
the challenge text to the access point. The access point required for association such as the association ID and
ensures the text was encrypted with the correct key by supported data rates.
decrypting it with its own key. The result of this process
determines the WNIC's authentication status.

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

Control Frames
Categorization of Data Frame Types
Control frames facilitate the exchange of data frames between
stations. Some common 802.11 control frames include: Frame Contention-based Contention-free Carries
Type Service Service Data
Acknowledgement (ACK) Frame: After receiving a data
Data X Yes
frame, the receiving station will send an ACK frame to the
sending station if no errors are found. If the sending station Data+CF-Ack X Yes

doesn't receive an ACK frame within a predetermined Data+CF-Poll AP only Yes

period of time, the sending station will resend the frame. Data+CF-Ack+CF-Poll AP only Yes
Null X X No
Request to Send (RTS) Frame: The RTS and CTS
frames provide an optional collision reduction scheme for CF-Ack X No

access points with hidden stations. A station sends a RTS CF-Poll AP only No
frame as the first step in a two-way handshake required CF-ACK+CF-Poll AP only No
before sending data frames. Table 5. Categorization of data frame types.

Clear to Send (CTS) Frame: A station responds to an

RTS frame with a CTS frame. It provides clearance for the Data Frames
requesting station to send a data frame. The CTS provides
Data frames carry higher-level protocol data in the frame body.
collision control management by including a time value for
Depending on the particular type of data frame, some of the
which all other stations are to hold off transmission while the
fields in the figure may not be used. The different data frame
requesting stations transmits.
types can be categorized according to function. One such
distinction is between data frames used for contention-based
service and those used for contention-free service. Any frames
that appear only in the contention-free period can never be
used in an independent basic service set (IBSS). Another
possible division is between frames that carry data and frames
that perform management functions. Table 5 shows how
frames may be divided along these lines.

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Primer

802.11b Packet Format

802.11b Packet Format (refer to figure below)

Preamble and Header Long (required in original)

Short (optional in "b")
Preamble Always uses DSS1M
Long Preamble contains 144 bits (128 scrambled 1's + 16 SFD marker bits)
Short Preamble contains 72 bits (56 scrambled 0's + 16 SFD marker bits)
Header Long Header uses DSSS1M, Short Header uses DSSS2M
Contains 48 bits indicating configuration:
SIGNAL (8 bits): indicates payload data rate (1, 2, 5.5 or 11 Mbps)
SERVICE (8 bits): additional HR configuration bits
LENGTH (16 bits): length of data Payload in microseconds
CRC (16 bits): Protects header data contents
Payload Payload data modulated with DSSS1M, DSSS2M, CCK5.5M, or CCK11M

802.11b Packet Format

Bits:

Preamble Header Payload Data

144 or 72 bits 48 bits N bits

DSSS1M DSSS1M (1:11)* DSSS1M (1:11)* or DSSS2M (2:11)

Mod (1:11)* Mod or Mod or
DSSS2M (2:11)* CCK5.5M (4:8) or CCK11M (8:8)

IQ:

DBPSK DBPSK or DBPSK or DQPSK or CCK5.5M or CCK11M

DQPSK
1584 or 792 chips 528 or 264 chips N*K chips

192 usec (Long) or 96 usec (Short) (N*K) / 11* 10e-6 usec

* (N:M) = (Nbits:Mchips), K= M / N

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

802.11a/g Packet Format

802.11a/g Packet Format (refer to figure below)

Preamble STF: Short Training Field (2 symbols)

- Uses on 1/4 of subcarriers. Repeats every 16 chips.
- Initial timing sync and frequency estimate.
LTF: Long Training Field (2 symbols)
- Uses all 52 subcarriers (same as Data symbols).
- Fine timing and frequency sync, and channel response estimation.
SIGNAL: (1 symbol)
- Encoded similar to a Data symbol, but always uses BPSK modulation. 24 bits of configuration data.
- Fields:
- RATE (4 bits): Indicates Data FEC coding and modulation (8 combinations), aka "MCS"
- LENGTH (12 bits): Number of octets (bytes) carried in Payload
- PARITY (1 bit): Even parity-check on RATE+LENGTH data
- TAIL (7 bits): Used for SIGNAL symbol FEC decoding
Payload 52 subcarriers, 48 Data + 4 Pilot
Data subcarriers use BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM or 64QAM modulation. Same in all symbols
Pilots subcarriers (BPSK only) are used to track frequency/phase and amplitude variations over the burst

802.11ag Packet Format

Preamble

STF LTF SIGNAL Data

2 symbols 2 symbols 1 symbol N symbols

8 usec 8 usec 4 usec N * 4 usec

(160 chips) (160 chips) (80 chips) (N*80 chips)

Coarse Fine RATE, How to decode

Time Sync, LENGTH How much to decode
and Channel
Frequency Estimation
Sync

* (N:M) = (Nbits:Mchips), K= M / N

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Primer

802.11n Packet Format 802.11n AP using Non-HT delivers no better performance

than 802.11a/g.
There are two 802.11n operating modes: Greenfield (HT) and
Mixed (Non-HT). Greenfield can only be used where no legacy The mandatory HT Mixed mode will be the most common
systems exist. HT systems will not switch between Greenfield 802.11n AP operating mode. In this mode, HT enhancements
and Mixed, they will only use one or the other. can be used simultaneously with HT Protection mechanisms
that permit communication with legacy stations. HT Mixed
An 802.11n AP using Non-HT mode sends all frames in the
mode provides backwards compatibility, but 802.11n devices
old 802.11a/g format so that legacy stations can understand
pay significant throughput penalties as compared to Greenfield
them. That AP must use 20 MHz channels and none of the
mode.
new HT features described in this paper. All products must
support this mode to ensure backward compatibility, but an

802.11n Packet Format (refer to figures on page 23)

Preamble
Mixed Mode Non-HT Legacy
L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG are backward compatible to a/g systems
L-SIG contains RATE and LENGTH values that inform Legacy systems how long to hold off next Tx attempt
HT Mixed Mode
HT-SIG (2 symbols): Indicates MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), Length, and other HT-specific parameters
HT-STF (1 symbol), HT-LTF (≥1 symbol): Allow sync and channel estimation on HT bandwidth (more subcarriers than L-LTF).
Additional HT-LTF symbols are included for MIMO modes to "sound" the multiple channels (paths)

Greenfield Mode L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG are dropped, HT-STF and HT-LTF replace L-STF/LTF
Otherwise similar to MF Preamble
- Fields:
- RATE (4 bits): Indicates Data FEC coding and modulation (8 combinations), aka "MCS"
- LENGTH (12 bits): Number of octets (bytes) carried in Payload
- PARITY (1 bit): Even parity-check on RATE+LENGTH data
- TAIL (7 bits): Used for SIGNAL symbol FEC decoding
Payload 56 (20 MHz) or 114 (40 MHz) subcarriers
Data subcarriers use BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, or 64QAM modulation. Same in all symbols
Pilots subcarriers (BPSK only) are used to track frequency/phase and amplitude variations over the burst
Optional Short Guard Interval can be used if multipath environment allows

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

802.11n HT Packet Format - Mixed Format (MF)

Preamble
Subcarriers
Legacy (a/g) HT (20-40 MHz)

L-STF L-LTF L-STF HT-SIG HT-STF HT-LTF Data

2 symbols 2 symbols 1 symbol 2 symbols 1 symbol 2 symbols N symbols

20 usec ≥16 usec

(5 symbols) (≥ 4 symbols)

Initial Time RATE,

and LENGTH
Channel Estimation,
Frequency (fake burst)
MIMO training
Sync
MCS
LENGTH How to decode
etc. How much to decode

802.11n HT Packet Format - Greenfield (GF)

Subcarriers
Preamble
(20-40 MHz)

HT-STF HT-LTF1 HT-SIG HT-LTFn Data

2 symbols 2 symbols 2 symbols ≥ 0 symbol N symbols

≥ 24 usec
(≥ 6 symbols)

Time and MIMO training

Frequency Sync,
Channel Estimation

MCS
LENGTH How to decode
etc. How much to decode

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Primer

802.11ac Packet Format

802.11ac Packet Format (refer to figure below)

Preamble Single Preamble format, no Greenfield type

Legacy Mode L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG are backward compatible to a/g systems
L-SIG contains RATE and LENGTH values that inform Legacy systems how long to hold off next Tx attempt

VHT Mode VHT-SIGA (2 symbols): Indicates MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), and other VHT-specific parameters
VHT-STF (1 symbol), VHT-LTF (≥1 symbol): Allow sync and channel estimation on VHT bandwidth (more subcarriers than L-STF/L-LTF).
Additional VHT-LTF symbols are included for MIMO configs to "sound" the multiple channels (paths)
VHT-SIGB (1 symbol): Length parameters, MU-MIMO support
Payload 56/114/242/484 (20/40/80/160 MHz) subcarriers (Data + Pilot)
Data subcarriers use BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM or 256QAM modulation. Same in all symbols
Pilots subcarriers (BPSK only) are used to track frequency/phase and amplitude variations over the burst
Optional Short Guard Interval can be used if multipath environment allows

802.11ac Packet Format

Preamble

Legacy (a/g) HT
Subcarriers
(20/40/80/160 MHz)

L-STF L-LTF L-SIG VHT-SIGA VHT-STF VHT-LTF VHT-SIGB Data

2 symbols 2 symbols 1 symbol 2 symbols 1 symbol ≥1 symbols 1 symbol N symbols

20 usec ≥ 20 usec
(5 symbols) (≥ 5 symbols)

Initial Time RATE,

and LENGTH
Channel Estimation,
Frequency (fake burst)
MIMO training
Sync
MCS
etc. How to decode
How much to decode

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

Physical Layer Modulation Formats Modulation Techniques Used by the 802.11 Standards
The physical layer modulation formats and coding rates
determine how the 802.11 data is sent over the air and at Legacy DSSS - DBPSK (1M)
DSSS - DQPSK (2M)
what data rates. For example, Direct-Sequence Spread
Spectrum (DSSS) was used in the early 802.11 standards, 802.11b HR/DSSS - CCK (5.5M, 11M)
HR/DSSS - PBCC (5.5M, 11M) (obsolete)
while Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
is being used by many of the later standards. The newer 802.11g ERP - PBCC (22M, 33M) (obsolete)
modulation methods and coding rates are generally more DSSS - OFDM (6-54M) (deprecated)

efficient and sustain higher data rates, but older methods 802.11a/g OFDM (6-54M)
and rates are still supported for backwards compatibility. 802.11n HT20/40 (6.5 - 150M) (SISO 1x1:1)
Table 6 highlights modulation formats for each of the 802.11 HT20/40 (13 - 600M) (MIMO, up to 4x4:4)
standards. This section discusses in more detail the two 802.11ac VHT20/40/80/160 (6.5 - 867M) (SISO 1x1:1)
primary modulation techniques used today – DSSS and VHT80+80 (58.5 - 867M) (SISO 1x1:1)
OFDM. VHT20/40/80/160 (13 - 6933M) (MIMO, up to 8x8:8)
VHT80+80 (117 - 6933M) (MIMO, up to 8x8:8)

Table 6. Modulation techniques used by the 802.11 standards.

Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum

For the original legacy 802.11 and 802.11b standards they (PN) sequence (because 1 × 1 = 1, and −1 × −1 = 1). This
make use of Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) process, known as "de-spreading", mathematically constitutes
modulation techniques. As with other spread spectrum a correlation of the transmitted PN sequence with the PN
technologies, the transmitted signal takes up more bandwidth sequence that the receiver believes the transmitter is using.
than the information signal that modulates the carrier or The resulting effect of enhancing signal to noise ratio on the
broadcast frequency. The name 'spread spectrum' comes channel is called process gain. This effect can be made larger
from the fact that the carrier signals occur over the full by employing a longer PN sequence and more chips per
bandwidth (spectrum) of a device's transmitting frequency. bit, but physical devices used to generate the PN sequence
Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum transmissions multiply the impose practical limits on attainable processing gain.
data being transmitted by a "noise" signal. This noise signal is If an undesired transmitter transmits on the same channel but
a pseudorandom sequence of 1 and −1 values, at a frequency with a different PN sequence (or no sequence at all), the de-
much higher than that of the original signal. spreading process results in no processing gain for that signal.
The resulting signal resembles white noise, similar to an This effect is the basis for the code division multiple access
audio recording of "static". This noise-like signal can then be (CDMA) property of DSSS, which allows multiple transmitters
used to exactly reconstruct the original data at the receiving to share the same channel within the limits of the cross-
end, by multiplying it by the same pseudorandom number correlation properties of their PN sequences.

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Primer

Figure 12. The 802.11b DSSS transmitted waveform has a roughly bell-shaped envelope centered on the carrier frequency.

Figure 12 shows the plot of an 802.11b DSSS transmitted DSSS is different from frequency-hopping spread spectrum
waveform. It has a roughly bell-shaped envelope centered (FHSS) transmission, that pseudo-randomly re-tunes the
on the carrier frequency, just like a normal AM transmission, carrier, instead of adding pseudo-random noise to the data.
except that the added noise causes the distribution to be DSSS transmissions result in a uniform frequency distribution
much wider than that of an AM transmission. whose width is determined by the output range of the
pseudorandom number generator.

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

DSSS1M:
1 Mbps 1 11
1b
Msymb/sec Mchips/sec
RF
Mod

DSSS2M:
2 Mbps
2b Barker Code
1-1 11 - 1 1 1 1 -1 - 1- 1

Figure 13. BPSK/QPSK modulation techniques used in the 802.11b standard.

CCK5.5M: Map 4 bits

5.5 Mbps 4b 8 QPSK chips 11
Mchips/sec
RF
Mod

CCK11M: Map 8 bits

11 Mbps 8 QPSK chips
8b

Figure 14. QPSK/QPSK modulation techniques used in the 802.11b standard.

802.11 DSSS modulation uses a two stage process. In the In order to increase the data rate beyond 2 Mbps, 802.11b
first stage, 1 or 2 bits of data are encoded using a Differential also specifies complementary code keying (CCK) techniques,
BPSK (DBPSK) or Differential QPSK (DQPSK) method. Both which consists of a set of eight-chip code words for the
encoding methods produce complex-valued IQ symbols at a 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps data rates. CCK code words have
rate of 1 Msymbol/sec. Since DBPSK carries 1 bit per symbol, unique mathematical properties that allow them to be correctly
it results in 1 Mbps data throughput, while DQPSK results in distinguished from one another by a receiver even in the
2 Mbps throughput, effectively doubling the capacity of presence of substantial noise and multi-path interference. The
DBPSK. DQPSK uses the spectrum more efficiently, but has 5.5 Mbps rate uses CCK to encode four bits per symbol and
reduced immunity to noise and other interference. Following the 11 Mbps rate encodes eight bits per symbol. Both speeds
the differential encoding, the 11 chip Barker code spreading use QPSK as the modulation technique, which allows for
is applied, converting the 1 Msymb/sec symbols into higher data rates (Figure 14).
11 Mchip/sec chip sequences. These chips are then
modulated on an RF carrier for transmission (Figure 13).

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Primer

Figure 15. OFDM modulation techniques offer a multitude of choices to allow the system to adapt to the optimum data rate for the current signal conditions.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing In the past, the spacing between channels was often greater
(OFDM) than the symbol rate to avoid overlapping the spectrums.
However, in OFDM systems, the sub-carriers overlap, which
Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a conserves bandwidth. Keeping the sub-carriers orthogonal
method of encoding digital data on multiple sub-carrier to each other controls sub-carrier interference. Orthogonality
frequencies. OFDM enables the transmission of broadband, means there is a mathematical relationship between the
high data rate information by dividing the data into several sub-carriers.
interleaved, parallel bit streams modulated on a separate
sub-carrier. This modulation technique is a robust solution With OFDM, the high rate data signal is divided equally across
to counter the adverse effects of multipath propagation and the sub-carriers. This reduces the data rate and increases
inter-symbol interference (ISI). With the ability to offer several the symbol duration for the sub-carriers, thus reducing the
modulation and coding alternatives it can easily adapt to relative amount of dispersion in time caused by multi-path
improve the channel quality. The multitude of choices allows delay spread. Phase noise and non-linear distortion contribute
the system to adapt the optimum data rate for the current the most to loss of orthogonality, which results in inter-carrier
signal conditions. An example of the 802.11ac OFDM signal interference (ICI). A guard interval is added to help prevent ICI,
is shown in Figure 15. as well as ISI. A signal with a slower data rate is more resistant
to multi-path fading and interference.

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 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

The primary advantage of OFDM over single-carrier schemes

is its ability to cope with severe channel conditions (for 802.11b
example frequency-selective fading due to multipath)
Modulation Symbol/Chip Data Rate
without complex equalization filters. Channel equalization
Ratio (Mbps)
is simplified because OFDM may be viewed as using many
DBPSK 1/11 1
slowly modulated narrowband signals rather than one rapidly
DQPSK 1/5 2
modulated wideband signal. The low symbol rate makes the
use of a guard interval between symbols affordable, making it DQPSK 1/2 5.5
possible to eliminate inter symbol interference (ISI) and utilize BPSK 1/2 5.5
echoes and time-spreading to achieve a diversity gain, i.e. a DQPSK 1 11
signal-to-noise ratio improvement. QPSK 1/2 11
8PSK 1 22
Data Modulation and Coding (FEC)
8PSK 1 33
Combinations
Forward Error Correction (FEC) or channel coding is a
technique used for controlling errors in data transmission over
unreliable or noisy communication channels. The central idea 802.11a/g
is the sender encodes their message in a redundant way by
using an error-correcting code (ECC). The redundancy allows RATE Modulation FEC Data Rate
Rate (Mbps)
the receiver to detect a limited number of errors that may
occur anywhere in the message, and often to correct these 1101 (13) BPSK 1/2 6

errors without retransmission. FEC gives the receiver the ability 1111 (15) BPSK 3/4 9
to correct errors without needing a reverse channel to request 0101 (5) QPSK 1/2 12
retransmission of data, but at the cost of a fixed, higher 0111 (7) QPSK 3/4 18
forward channel bandwidth. 1001 (9) 16QAM 1/2 24

In digital communications, a chip is a pulse of a direct- 1011 (11) 16QAM 3/4 36

sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) code. The chip rate of a 0001 (1) 64QAM 2/3 48
code is the number of pulses per second (chips per second) 0011 (3) 64QAM 3/4 54
at which the code is transmitted (or received). The chip rate
is larger than the symbol rate, meaning that one symbol is
represented by multiple chips.
Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS): A specification
of the high-throughput (HT) physical layer (PHY) parameters
that consists of modulation order (e.g.,BPSK, QPSK,
16-QAM, 64-QAM) and forward error correction (FEC) coding
rate (e.g.,1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6).

www.tektronix.com/wifi 29
Primer

Modulation Coding Scheme and Forward Error Correction Rate for 802.11n

MCS Modulation FEC Rate Data Rate

20 MHz (Mbps) 40 MHz (Mbps)
0 BPSK 1/2 7.2 15.0
1 QPSK 1/2 14.4 30.0
2 QPSK 3/4 21.7 45.0
3 16QAM 1/2 28.9 60.0
4 16QAM 3/4 43.3 90.0
5 64QAM 2/3 57.8 120.0
6 64QAM 3/4 65.0 135.0
7 64QAM 5/6 72.2 150.0

Modulation Coding Scheme and Forward Error Correction Rate for 802.11ac

MCS Modulation FEC Rate Data Rate

20 MHz (Mbps) 40 MHz (Mbps) 80 MHz (Mbps) 160 MHz (Mbps)
0 BPSK 1/2 7.2 15.0 32.5 65.0
1 QPSK 1/2 14.4 30.0 65.0 130.0
2 QPSK 3/4 21.7 45.0 97.5 195.0
3 16QAM 1/2 28.9 60.0 130.0 260.0
4 16QAM 3/4 43.3 90.0 195.0 390.0
5 64QAM 2/3 57.8 120.0 260.0 525.0
6 64QAM 3/4 65.0 135.0 292.5 585.0
7 64QAM 5/6 72.2 150.0 325.0 650.0
8 256QAM 3/4 86.7 180.0 390.0 780.0
9 256QAM 5/6 N/A 200.0 433.3 866.7

30 www.tektronix.com/wifi
 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

WLAN Operational Process

To connect to a WLAN network, a device has to be equipped
with a wireless network interface controller. The combination
of computer and interface controller is called a station (STA).
All stations share a single radio frequency communication
channel. Transmissions on this channel are received by all
Network Access
stations within range. Each station is constantly tuned in
Point
on the radio frequency communication channel to pick up
available transmissions.
A Wi-Fi-enabled device can connect to the Internet STA
when within range of a wireless network which is 2
configured to permit this. The coverage of one or more STA
(interconnected) access points can extend from an area 1
as small as a few rooms to as large as many square miles.
Coverage in a larger area may require a group of access points
with overlapping coverage. Figure 16. The Basic Service Set (BSS) is a group of wireless stations (STA) that form
an association.
A group of wireless stations (STA) that form an association
is called a Basic Service Set or BSS. There are two types of
BSS – Ad hoc and Infrastructure. The Ad hoc BSS offers direct
communication between STAs, but does not include central Band Pass Low Noise
control. With the Infrastructure BSS, STAs associate with an Filter Amplifier
Access Point (AP), which may also be connected to a network
(Figure 16).
This section provides an overview of the WLAN operational
process for establishing communication links and transferring DPDT
data between 802.11 devices. WLAN
Antenna
Transceiver
Diversity
Anatomy of a WLAN Device
In the early days of 802.11 dedicated PC cards were
commonly inserted into desktop and laptop computers.
Today, embedded WLAN modules are designed into all
mobile computers and the majority of cellular phones as Band Pass Power
well. In addition, these embedded modules are becoming Filter Amplifier
available in a wide variety of appliances and non-traditional
Figure 17. Simple example of a WLAN design.
computing devices. These real-time operating systems provide
a simple means of wirelessly enabling any device which has
and communicates via a serial port. This allows the design Figure 17 is a simple block diagram of a WLAN radio system.
of simple monitoring devices. An example is a portable ECG As with most electronic systems, newer radio designs have
device monitoring a patient at home. This Wi-Fi-enabled higher levels of integration, although performance trade-offs
device can communicate via the Internet. must be made.

www.tektronix.com/wifi 31
Primer

Passive Scan ActiveScan

Network Network

beacons beacons beacons probe response

client client
probe request
client client client

Figure 18. 802.11 devices may establish contact with either passive or active scanning.

Receiver sensitivity is important because it determines the The IEEE specification allows for different implementations, so
maximum range over which a WLAN link can operate. There characteristics may differ between devices.
are secondary system benefits as well. If one link completes
Passive Scanning uses Beacons and Probe Requests. After
a transmission faster than another because the Packet
selecting a channel, the scanning device listens for Beacons
Error Rate is lower, battery consumption will be reduced
or Probe Requests from other devices. In the case of passive
and less interference will occur with other users. In a real-
scanning the client just waits to receive a Beacon Frame from
world environment, interference suppression and linearity
the AP. A Beacon is transmitted from an AP and contains
will directly affect the performance of the radio. A Receive
information about the AP along with a timing reference. Like
Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) test, made during the short
other transmissions, they are subject to a clear channel test
training sequence, determines which path is switched in for a
and so may be delayed. The device searches for a network by
particular burst.
just listening for beacons until it finds a suitable network to join.
On the transmit side, it is often necessary to include an
With Active Scanning the device tries to locate an AP by
external power amplifier (PA). Cost, current consumption, and
transmitting Probe Request Frames, and waits for a Probe
linearity demand careful consideration. Although the analog
Response from the AP. Listening for a clear channel, the
hardware can be tested in isolation, it needs to be combined
device which seeks to establish contact sends a Probe
with the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) of the Baseband
Request. The probe request frame can be a directed or a
circuit in order to comprise a complete transceiver.
broadcast probe request. The probe response frame from the
Establishing Contact AP is similar to the beacon frame. Based on the response from
the AP, the client makes a decision about connecting to the
When a device is first powered up, the software above the AP. While active scanning is a faster way to establish contact,
MAC layer stimulates the device to establish contact. The it consumes more battery power.
device will use either active or passive scanning.

32 www.tektronix.com/wifi
 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements
Beacon

Beacon

Beacon
traffic traffic traffic traffic traffic

Target Beacon Transmit Time (TBTT)

Figure 19. The AP periodically broadcasts a Beacon frame or packet at regular intervals to advertise its capabilities.

Synchronization Association
The AP periodically broadcasts a Beacon frame (packet) at Association is the next step after authentication and it enables
regular intervals, typically every 100 msec. This is called the data transfer between the device and the AP. The device
Target Beacon Transmit Time or TBTT. The beacon carries sends an association request frame to the AP who replies to
regulatory, capability, and BSS management information, the client with an association response frame either allowing
including: or disallowing the association. Once the association is
successful, the AP issues an Association ID to the client and
Supported Data Rates
adds the client to its database of connected clients.
SSID – Service Set ID (AP’s nickname)
Exchanging Data
Timestamp (synchronization)
Data transfer is allowed only after authentication and
The AP also uses the beacon to advertise its capabilities and
association. Attempting to send data to an AP without proper
this information is used by the passively scanning clients to
authentication and association causes the AP to respond
make a decision to connect to the AP. This is necessary to
with a de-authentication frame. Data frames are always
keep all the clients synchronized with the AP in order for the
acknowledged. If a device sends a data frame to an AP, the
clients to perform functions like power save.
AP must send an acknowledgement. If the AP sends a data
Authentication frame to a device, the device must send an acknowledgement.
The AP will forward data frames received from the client to
Next, the station needs to be authenticated by the AP in
the required destination on the wired network. It will also
order to join the APs network. With an open network, a
forward data directed to the client from the wired network.
device sends an authentication request and the AP sends
APs can also forward traffic between two clients, but this is
the result back. For a secure network there is a more formal
not common.
authentication process. 802.1X authentication involves three
parties: the access point, device, and the authentication
server which is typically a host running software supporting
the required protocols. The access point provides the security
to protect the network. The device is not allowed access
through the AP to the protected side of the network until the
device’s identity has been validated and authorized. If the
authentication server determines the credentials are valid,
the supplicant (client device) is allowed to access resources
located on the protected side of the network.

www.tektronix.com/wifi 33
Primer

Making Transmitter Measurements Transmit Spectrum Mask

Transmitter impairments can reduce the performance of WLAN The Transmit Spectrum Mask is defined for each variant of the
systems, or even prevent RF devices from working together. standard. This mask provides the limit under which the signal
Transmitter tests are significant because some transceiver power is allowed to distribute over the channel. For DSSS
problems can be found quickly by analyzing transmitted output PHY, the transmitted spectral products shall be less than
first. Since the local oscillator(s) (LO) are shared between the –30 dBr (decibel relative to the SINx/x peak) for fc – 22 MHz
transmit and receive side, any problems with the LO which < f < fc –11 MHz, and fc +11 MHz < f < fc + 22 MHz,
would affect the receiver, will be seen during transmitter –50 dBr for f < fc –22 MHz, and f > fc + 22 MHz, where fc is
testing. the channel center frequency. The transmit spectral mask is
shown in Figure 7. The measurements shall be made using
This section highlights the tests that have been specified to 100 kHz resolution bandwidth and a 30 kHz video bandwidth.
ensure a device's compliance and performance for the 802.11 For OFDM PHY, the transmit spectrum mask may also be
standards. defined by regulatory restrictions. In the presence of additional
regulatory restrictions, the device needs to meet both the
Transmitter Test Conditions
regulatory requirements and the mask defined by the IEEE
The IEEE 802.11 standard defines the conditions for standard, and its emissions need to be no higher at any
transmitter testing, however it does not include any over-the- frequency offset than the minimum of the values specified in
air control of test mode functions. Testing must be performed the regulatory and default masks. The transmitted spectral
via test ports accessible on the WLAN device or module. density of the transmitted signal shall fall within the spectral
When testing a device one wants to be sure that it is not mask, as shown in Figure 8. The Spectral Mask can be
interacting with other WLAN devices. In addition the particular used to diagnose distortions present in the signal (such as
standard being tested (a,b,g,..) needs to be controlled. compression), or any leakage into adjacent channels that may
Device-specific or proprietary software is often needed to compromise the signal quality in the adjacent channels.
control the device through specific test modes. The standard Spectral Flatness
specifies various test modes which control the operational
state of the radio and the transmitter parameters. The use Spectral flatness is a measurement of the power variations
of independent test equipment and software to control the for the sub-carriers in an OFDM signal. It should be used to
device requires that test engineers pay special attention to ensure that power is spread out evenly over the channel and
the triggering and timing of their measurements. detect issues with the output filter performance. Spectral
flatness is defined as follows in the standard for 802.11n (HT
Transmitter Tests PHY): In a 20 MHz channel and in corresponding 20 MHz
transmission in a 40 MHz channel, the average energy of the
Transmitter Power
constellations in each of the subcarriers with indices –16 to –1
The nominal transmit power of a frame is defined as part of and +1 to +16 shall deviate no more than ± 4 dB from their
the PMD Transmit specifications for the Frequency-Hopping average energy. The average energy of the constellations in
Spread Spectrum (FHSS) PHY (14.7.14.2). Maximum each of the subcarriers with indices –28 to –17 and +17 to
allowable output power is measured in accordance with +28 shall deviate no more than +4/–6 dB from the average
practices specified by the regional regulatory bodies. energy of subcarriers with indices –16 to –1 and +1 to +16.
Otherwise, the measurement is done as an average power
In a 40 MHz transmission (excluding MCS 32 format and non-
over the entire packet, regardless of signal type.
HT duplicate format), the average energy of the constellations
in each of the subcarriers with indices –42 to –2 and +2 to
+42 shall deviate no more than ± 4 dB from their average
energy. The average energy of the constellations in each of
the subcarriers with indices –43 to –58 and +43 to +58 shall
deviate no more than +4/–6 dB from the average energy of
subcarriers with indices –42 to –2 and +2 to +42.

34 www.tektronix.com/wifi
 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

In MCS 32 format and non-HT duplicate format, the average When the RF LO is not at the center of the transmitted
energy of the constellations in each of the subcarriers with bandwidth, the power measured at the location of the RF
indices –42 to –33, –31 to –6, +6 to +31, and +33 to +42 shall LO using a resolution of 312.5 kHz shall not exceed the
deviate no more than ± 4 dB from their average energy. The maximum of -32 dB relative to the total transmit power and
average energy of the constellations in each of the subcarriers -20 dBm.
with indices –43 to –58 and +43 to +58 shall deviate no more For an 80+80 MHz transmission where the RF LO falls outside
than +4/–6 dB from the average energy of subcarriers with both frequency segments, the RF LO shall follow the spectral
indices –42 to –33, –31 to –6, +6 to +31, and +33 to +42. The mask requirements as defined in the standard. The transmit
tests for the spectral flatness requirements may be performed center frequency leakage is specified per antenna.
with spatial mapping.
Transmitter Constellation Error
Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance
Transmit Modulation tests include a verification of the
The transmitter center frequency tolerance shall be ± 20 ppm Constellation Diagram and a measurement of the Error Vector
maximum for the 5 GHz band and ± 25 ppm maximum for the Magnitude (EVM). These tests provide critical information on
2.4 GHz band. The different transmit chain center frequencies the types of distortion in the entire transmit chain that can
(LO) and each transmit chain symbol clock frequency shall all affect the signal quality.
be derived from the same reference oscillator.
The Transmit Constellation Error, also known as EVM RMS
Transmit Center Frequency Leakage is the RMS averaged deviation of the actual constellation
points from the ideal error-free locations in the constellation
Certain transmitter implementations may cause leakage of
diagram (in % RMS or dB). The RMS error is averaged over
the center frequency component. Such carrier leakage can
subcarriers, OFDM frames, and packets. This measurement
occur in some transmitter because of DC offset. This issue
allows for the detection of imperfections such as compression,
is seen on the receiver side as energy in the transmit center
dynamic range, I/Q errors, interference and phase noise.
frequency. Often OFDM-based receiver systems utilize some
IEEE mandates that the test is performed over at least
way to remove the carrier leakage. IEEE mandates that the
20 frames (Nf), each frame being at least 16 OFDM symbols
transmitter center frequency leakage does not exceed
long. Random data is to be used for the symbols.
–15 dB relative to overall transmitted power or equivalently,
+2 dB relative to the average energy of the rest of the Transmitter Modulation Accuracy (EVM) Test
subcarriers) for transmission in a 20 MHz channel width. For
This test is essentially a repeat of the Transmitter Constellation
transmissions in a 40 MHz channel width, the center frequency
Error.
leakage shall not exceed –20 dB relative to overall transmitted
power, or, equivalently, 0 dB relative to the average energy Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance
of the rest of the subcarriers. For upper or lower 20 MHz
The symbol clock frequency tolerance shall be ± 20 ppm
transmissions in a 40 MHz channel, the center frequency
maximum for 5 GHz bands and ± 25 ppm for 2.4 GHz bands.
leakage (center of a 40 MHz channel) shall not exceed
The transmit center frequency and the symbol clock frequency
–17 dB relative to overall transmitted power, or, equivalently,
for all transmit antennas shall be derived from the same
0 dB relative to the average energy of the rest of the
reference oscillator.
subcarriers. For 802.11ac, all formats and bandwidths
except non-contiguous 80+80 MHz where the RF LO falls
outside both frequency segments shall meet the following
requirements:
When the RF LO is in the center of the transmitted
bandwidth, the power measured at the center of
transmission bandwidth using a resolution of 312.5 kHz
shall not exceed the average power per-subcarrier of the
transmitted burst.

www.tektronix.com/wifi 35
Primer

802.11 and 802.11b Transmitter Requirements

1
802.11 and 802.11b Transmit Requirements

DSSS (802.11-2012, Section 16)

Spurious Display 16.4.6.6 Tx & Rx Inband & OOB Spurious EM No specification ("...shall conform to in-band and out-of-band spurious
17.4.6.9 emissions as set by regulatory bodies.")
Channel Power Display 16.4.7.2 Transmit Power Levels No specification ("...measured in accordance with practices specified by the
17.4.7.2 appropriate regulatory bodies.")
Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) 16.4.7.5 Transmit Spectrum Mask dBr Spectrum Mask
17.4.7.4
Summary Display Carrier 16.4.7.6 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance +/-25 ppm
Frequency Error 17.4.7.5

Summary Display Symbol 16.4.7.7 Chip Clock Frequency Tolerance +/-25 ppm
Clock Error 17.4.7.6

Power On / Power Off 16.4.7.8 Transmit Power On / Power Off 10%- 90% in < = 2 usec
17.4.7.7
Summary Display IQ 16.4.7.9 RF Carrier Suppression -15 dB w.r.t. sin(x)/x shape
Origin Offset 17.4.7.8

Summary Display - EVM 16.4.7.10 Transmit Modulation Accuracy Peak EVM (1000 samples) <0.35
17.4.7.9
1 Defined by the IEEE 802.11- 2012 revision of the standard.

36 www.tektronix.com/wifi
 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

802.11a Transmitter Requirements

1
802.11a Transmit Requirements

OFDM ("a") (802.11-2012, Section 18)

Spurious Display 18.3.8.5 Tx & Rx Inband & OOB Spurious EM No specification ("...shall conform to in-band and out-of-band spurious
emissions as set by regulatory bodies.")
Channel Power Display 18.3.9.2 Transmit Power Levels No specification ("...measured in accordance with practices specified by the
appropriate regulatory bodies.")
Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) 18.3.9.3 Transmit Spectrum Mask dBr Spectrum Mask

Spurious Display 18.3.9.4 Transmit Spurious No specification ("...shall conform to regulations.")

Summary Display Carrier 18.3.9.5 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance +/-20 ppm (20 MHz and 10 MHz), +/-10 (5MHz)
Frequency Error
Summary Display Symbol 18.3.9.6 Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance +/-20 ppm (20 MHz and 10 MHz), +/-10 (5MHz)
Clock Error
Summary Display IQ 18.3.9.7.2 Transmitter Center Frequency -15 dBc or +2 dB w.r.t. average subcarrier power
Origin Offset Leakage

Spectral Flatness 18.3.9.7.3 Transmitter Spectral Flatness +/- 4 dB (SC=-16...16), +4/-6 dB (other)

Summary Display - EVM 18.3.9.7.4 Transmit Constellation Error Allowed Relative Constellation Error Versus Data Rate
Modulation Coding Rate (R) Relative Constellation Error (dB)
BPSK 1/2 -5
BPSK 3/4 -8
QPSK 1/2 -10
QPSK 3/4 -13
16-QAM 1/2 -16
16-QAM 3/4 -19
64-QAM 2/3 -22
64-QAM 3/4 -25
1 Defined by the IEEE 802.11- 2012 revision of the standard.

www.tektronix.com/wifi 37
Primer

802.11g and 802.11n Transmitter Requirements

1
802.11g and 802.11n Transmit Requirements

ERP (802.11-2012, Section 19)

Spurious Display 19.4.4 Tx & Rx Inband & OOB Spurious EM No specification ("...shall conform to in-band and out-of-band spurious
emissions as set by regulatory bodies.")
Channel Power Display 19.4.8.2 Transmit Power Levels No specification ("...measured in accordance with practices specified by the
appropriate regulatory bodies.")
Summary Display Carrier 19.4.8.3 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance +/-25 ppm
Frequency Error
Summary Display Symbol 19.4.8.4 Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance +/-25 ppm
Clock Error
Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) 19.5.5 Transmit Spectrum Mask
ERP-OFDM follow 18.3.9.3
ERP-DSSS follow 17.4.7.4

OFDM/HT ("n") (802.11-2012, Section 20)

Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) 17.4.7.4 Transmit Spectrum Mask dBr Spectrum Mask

Spectral Flatness 20.3.20.2 Spectral Flatness +/-4 dB, +4/-6 dB

Channel Power Display 20.3.20.3 Transmit Power No specification ("...measured in accordance with practices specified by the
appropriate regulatory bodies.")
Summary Display Carrier 20.3.20.4 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance +/-20 ppm (5GHz band), +/-25 ppm (2.4 GHz band)
Frequency Error
Summary Display Symbol 20.3.20.6 Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance +/-20 ppm (5GHz band), +/-25 ppm (2.4 GHz band)
Clock Error
Summary Display IQ Origin 20.3.20.7.2 Transmitter Center Frequency 20 MHz: follow 18.3.9.7.2
Offset Leakage 40 MHz: -20 dBc or 0 dB w.r.t average subcarrier power

Summary Display - EVM 20.3.20.7.3 Transmit Constellation Error Allowed Relative Constellation Error Versus Data Rate
Modulation Coding Rate (R) Relative Constellation Error (dB)
BPSK 1/2 -5
QPSK 1/2 -10
QPSK 3/4 -13
16-QAM 1/2 -16
16-QAM 3/4 -19
64-QAM 2/3 -22
64-QAM 3/4 -25
64-QAM 5/6 -27
1 Defined by the IEEE 802.11- 2012 revision of the standard.

38 www.tektronix.com/wifi
 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

802.11ac Transmitter Requirements

1
802.11ac Transmit Requirements

OFDM/VHT ("ac") (802.11-2012, Section 22)

Spectral Emission Mask (SEM) 22.3.18.15 Transmit Spectrum Mask dBr Spectrum Mask

Spectral Flatness 22.3.18.2 Spectral Flatness +/-4 dB, +4/-6 dB (various BWs, 20-160 MHz)

Summary Display Carrier 22.3.18.3 Transmit Center Frequency Tolerance +/-20 ppm
Frequency Error
Summary Display Symbol Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance +/-20 ppm
Clock Error
Summary Display IQ 22.3.18.4.2 Transmitter Center Frequency For 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz, and CF is in the center:
Origin Offset Leakage < average power per-subcarrier
For 20,40, 80 and 160 MHz and CF not in center:
<max (total power - 32dB, -20 dBm
For 80+80 MHz:
meet spectral mask
Summary Display - EVM 22.3.18.4.3 Transmit Constellation Error Allowed Relative Constellation Error Versus Data Rate
Modulation Coding Rate (R) Relative Constellation Error (dB)
BPSK 1/2 -5
QPSK 1/2 -10
QPSK 3/4 -13
16-QAM 1/2 -16
16-QAM 3/4 -19
64-QAM 2/3 -22
64-QAM 3/4 -25
64-QAM 5/6 -27
256-QAM 3/4 -30
256-QAM 5/6 -32
1 Defined by the IEEE 802.11- 2012 revision of the standard.

www.tektronix.com/wifi 39
Primer

Figure 20. The MDO4000 Series allows you to capture time-correlated analog, digital and RF signals for a complete system view of your device.

Testing Solutions The RSA306 USB Spectrum Analyzer takes many of the
capabilities of the larger benchtop RSA5000, but puts
In order to meet your test needs for both today and them into a much smaller form factor. About the size of the
tomorrow’s 802.11 specifications, Tektronix offers a suite paperback book, the form factor of the RSA306 breaks the
of tools to meet your particular needs. mold for use cases of a spectrum analyzer. The RSA306
With RSA5000 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers, you can can be used for quick checks of WLAN device functionality
quickly detect, capture and analyze RF signals such as and pre-compliance for both EMI and WLAN standards. The
802.11ac signals. Tektronix invented Real-Time Spectrum RSA306 takes advantage of SignalVu-PC software, which is
Analysis over two decades ago with this in mind. No other the same user interface and programmatic interface as the
spectrum analyzer family provides more confidence in testing larger spectrum analyzer.
wireless signals. You get wideband signal search with highest
probability of detection.
Further information on EMI Pre Compliance testing
is available in the application note "Low Cost EMI
Pre-compliance Testing using a Spectrum Analyzer",
37A-60141-0.

40 www.tektronix.com/wifi
 Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

Figure 21. SignalVu-PC gives you all the measurements for 802.11ac in one acquisition.

signals of interest, but never both at the same time. With

the MDO4000 Series, the spectrum analyzer has its own
With the MDO4000 Series, the world's first oscilloscope with
acquisition system that is independent, but time-correlated to
a built in spectrum analyzer, and capture time-correlated
the analog and digital channel acquisition systems. This allows
analog, digital and RF signals for a complete system view of
each domain to be configured optimally, providing a complete
your device. You see both the time and frequency domain in
time-correlated system view of all analog, digital, and RF
a single glance and view the RF spectrum at any point in time
signals of interest.
to see how it changes with time or device state, to solve the
most complicated design issues, quickly and efficiently. And now, with a live link the between MDO4000 and
SignalVu-PC, you can analyze the RF signal phase and
When both the spectrum analyzer and any analog or digital
amplitude in time and frequency as well as demodulate it.
channels are on, the oscilloscope display is split into two
Plus, qualify the RF signal quality as well as extract the symbol
views. The upper half of the display is a traditional oscilloscope
information. There are also dedicated options to analyze Wi-Fi
view of the Time Domain. The lower half of the display is a
signals and in particular the wide bandwidth IEEE 802.11ac
Frequency Domain view of the spectrum analyzer input.
signals. And because the MDO4000 Series is able to acquire
Note that the Frequency Domain view is not simply an FFT 1 GHz in one shot, all spectral, time-domain and modulation
of the analog or digital channels in the instrument, but is the measurements can be done simultaneously. Other narrower
spectrum acquired from the spectrum analyzer input. bandwidth signal analyzers need to sweep to capture the
Another key difference is that with traditional oscilloscope Spectral Emission Mask for example, as more than 160 MHz
FFTs, you typically get either the desired view of the FFT of bandwidth is required for this measurement.
display, or the desired view of your other time domain

www.tektronix.com/wifi 41
Primer

Block Diagram

BPF/PA
UART ADC

I2C GPIO

32 KHz
Ultra Low-Power
ALARM WAKE
44 MHz Wireless SOC

SPI
3.3V

3.3V 1.8V
VR

Peripheral Devices
SPI, UART 8/16/32 Bit
RF Modules
Micro-controllers
Sensor Devices

Optional
Sensor
Devices

Figure 22. High level block diagram of an RF module and its usage.

Most RF modules used in embedded applications are The MDO4000 is the only instrument that allows you to
controlled by a microcontroller via a serial data bus type of see the controlling signals going to the RF module and the
interface. Spectrum analyzers cannot help with the debug of RF output as one instrument.
the interface between the RF module and the microcontroller;
For more information, please check our website:
a new type of test equipment is needed, a tool that can
www.tektronix.com/mdo4000
visualize the control signals going on the SPI or UART buses
and at the same time provide the effects on the RF radio
transmission. Only the MDO4000 Series, coupled with
SignalVu-PC, provides this system level debug functionality
as one affordable tool.

42 www.tektronix.com/wifi
Wi-Fi: Overview of the 802.11 Physical Layer and Transmitter Measurements

www.tektronix.com/wifi 43
 Contact Tektronix:
ASEAN / Australasia (65) 6356 3900
Austria* 00800 2255 4835
Balkans, Israel, South Africa and other ISE Countries +41 52 675 3777
Belgium* 00800 2255 4835
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Finland +41 52 675 3777
France* 00800 2255 4835
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Puerto Rico 1 (800) 833-9200
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United Kingdom & Ireland* 00800 2255 4835
USA 1 (800) 833-9200

* If the European phone number above is not accessible,

please call +41 52 675 3777
Contact List Updated March 2013
For Further Information
Tektronix maintains a comprehensive, constantly expanding collection of
application notes, technical briefs and other resources to help engineers
working on the cutting edge of technology. Please visit www.tektronix.com
Copyright © 2015, Tektronix. All rights reserved. Tektronix products are
covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and pending. Information in this
publication supersedes that in all previously published material. Specification
and price change privileges reserved. TEKTRONIX and TEK are registered
trademarks of Tektronix, Inc. All other trade names referenced are the service
marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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