ESE680: Wireless Sensor Networks

Special Topics in Embedded Systems

Physical Layer - Part I

Lecture #5

Prof. Rahul Mangharam

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Administrivia
• Lab #1
– Due on Thursday, Feb 12 (before lecture)

• Lab #2
– Out on Thursday, Feb 12

• Reading Assignment #2
– Combined write-up 2-page summary on MAC and Physical Layer
– Due on Tuesday, Feb 17 (before lecture)

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Outline of Previous Lecture
• Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocols
– Communication Problems
– Collision
– Hidden Node Problem
– Exposed Terminal Problem
– Solutions?

• Data-link layer for Wireless Communications

– IEEE 802.11
– IEEE 802.15.4

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Outline of Today’s Lecture
• Communication Schemes
– Propagation Modes
– Fading
– Encoding Schemes
– Spread Spectrum

• Physical Layer for Wireless Communications

– UWB
– 802.11
– Bluetooth and Zigbee

Wireless Sensor Networks

Communication Schemes

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Topics
Application
• OSI Physical Layer Transport
• Frequency
• Propagation Modes Network
• Encoding Techniques
• Spread Spectrum MAC + Scheduling

PHY – Modulation & Encoding

PHY - Propagation Modes
PHY – Channel

References
[1] W. Stallings, Wireless Communications &
Networks , 2nd Ed, Prentice Hall, 2005
[2] Holger Karl, Andreas Willig, Protocols and Architectures for
Wireless Sensor Network, Wiley, 2005
[3] Simon Haykin, Communications Systems, 4ed ,Wiley 2000

Wireless Sensor Networks

 OSI Physical Layer
• Concerned with transmission of unstructured bit
stream over physical medium
• Deals with accessing the physical medium
– Mechanical characteristics
– Electrical characteristics
– Functional characteristics
– Procedural characteristics

• Is the WSN Physical Layer compatible with the OSI

Physical Layer?

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Frequency

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Propagation

• Ground-wave propagation
• Sky-wave propagation
• Line-of-sight propagation

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Ground Wave Propagation
• Follows the contour of the earth
• Can propagate considerable distances
• Frequencies up to 2 MHz
• Example
– AM radio

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Sky Wave Propagation
• Signal reflected from ionized layer of atmosphere
back down to earth
• Signal can travel a number of hops, back and forth
between ionosphere and earth’s surface
• Reflection effect caused by refraction
• Examples
– Amateur radio
– CB radio
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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Line-of-Sight Propagation
• Transmitting and receiving antennas must be within line of sight
– Satellite communication
– signal above 30 MHz not reflected by ionosphere
– Ground communication – antennas within effective line of site due to
refraction

• Refraction
– bending of microwaves by the atmosphere
– Velocity of electromagnetic wave is a function of the density of the medium
– When wave changes medium, speed changes
– Wave bends at the boundary between mediums

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Line-of-Sight Impairments
• Impairments
– Attenuation
– Free space loss
– Noise
– Atmospheric absorption
– Fading
• Large-scale fading: Multi-path
• Small-scale fading
– Refraction

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Free-Space Loss

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where,
• Pt = signal power at transmitting antenna
• Pr = signal power at receiving antenna
• λ = carrier wavelength
• d = propagation distance between antennas

Thus, as wavelength goes up, the signal loss is reduced and as

distance goes up, the signal loss is increased

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Noise
• Thermal Noise
– Noise seen in switching circuits due to electrons
– Function of temperature
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– N: Noise, k: Boltzman constant, T: Temperature, B: Bandwidth

• Intermodulation noise
– Noise caused by signals at different frequencies on the same medium

• Crosstalk
– Coupling between signal paths

• Impulse Noise
– Power spike (e.g. from thunder)

Wireless Sensor Networks

Large-Scale Fading: Multi-path (1 of 4)

• Multi-path: obstacles reflect signals so that multiple

copies with varying delays are received
– Reflection -occurs when signal encounters a surface that is
large relative to the wavelength of the signal
– Diffraction -occurs at the edge of an impenetrable body that
is large compared to wavelength of radio wave
– Scattering – occurs when incoming signal hits an object
whose size in the order of the wavelength of the signal or
less

Wireless Sensor Networks

Large-Scale Fading: Multi-path (2 of 4)

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Large-Scale Fading: Multi-path (3 of 4)

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Andersen, JB, TS Rappaport and S. Yeshiva, “Propagation Measurements and Models

for Wireless Communications Channels”, IEEE Communications Magazine, 1995, pp.
42-49.

Wireless Sensor Networks

Large-Scale Fading: Multi-path (4 of 4)

• Effects of Multi-path
– Multiple copies of a signal may arrive at different phases
• If phases add destructively, the signal level relative to noise
declines, making signal detection more difficult

– Inter-symbol interference (ISI)

• One or more delayed copies of a pulse may arrive at the same
time as the primary pulse for a subsequent bit

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Small-Scale Fading
• Distortion of Signal
– Time spreading of the underlying digital pulses in signal

• Motion
– Time-variant behavior of the channel due to motion

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Encoding Techniques (1 of 2)

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Why?
Need to change types of signaling according to channel bandwidth.

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Encoding Techniques (2 of 2)
• Digital data ==> digital signal
– e.g. Moving logic (digital data) between ICs on LVTTL level
(digital signal)

• Analog data ==> digital signal

– e.g. Voice (analog data) converted by DAC to TTL level
(digital signal)

• Digital data ==> analog signal

– e.g. ASCII files (digital data) on LAN cables (analog signal)

• Analog data ==> analog signal

– e.g. Music (analog data) over AM Radio (analog signal)

Wireless Sensor Networks

Digital Data to Analog Signal (1 of 2)
• ASK: Amplitude Shift Key
– Amplitude difference of carrier
frequency

• FSK: Frequency Shift Key

– Frequency difference around carrier
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• PSK: Phase Shift Key

– Phase change on carrier frequency

Wireless Sensor Networks

Digital Data to Analog Signal (1 of 2)
• QPSK: Quadrature PSK
• QAM: ASK + PSK

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Spread Spectrum
• Concept
– Effect of increasing bandwidth of signal to be transmitted by
modulating the signal with sequence of digits
• Spreading code or spreading sequence
• Generated by pseudo-noise, or pseudo-random number generator
• Benefits
– Immunity from various kinds of noise and multi-path distortion
– Used for hiding and encrypting signals
– Several users can independently use the same higher bandwidth
with very little interference
• Types
– Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
– Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)

Wireless Sensor Networks

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

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Wireless Sensor Networks

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

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Channel Assignment Channel Use

Wireless Sensor Networks

Physical Layer for Wireless
Communications

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Topics
• Physical Layers for various Wireless Applications

• Examples of Wireless Sensor Networks

– PicoRadio
– WINS
– μAMPS

• Constraints on Wireless Sensor Networks

– Cost
– Power

References
[1] Thomas H. Lee, The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits, Cambridge, 2004
[2] Holger Karl, Andreas Willig, Protocols and Architectures for Wireless Sensor Network, Wiley, 2005
[3] Edgar H. Callaway, Wireless Sensor Networks: Architectures and Protocols, Auerbach, 2003

Wireless Sensor Networks

Physical Layer for Various Wireless
Applications (1 of 3)

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 Physical Layer for Various Wireless
Applications (2 of 3)
• Ultra-Wideband (UWB)
– How: Use impulse-like spark transmissions.
– Small spike in time domain →Large spectrum in frequency
domain
– Common Definition
1. If transmitted signal’s fractional bandwidth > 25%
2. Total BW > 1.5GHz
– FCC Definition
1. Fractional bandwidth (at -10 dB) > 20% 2. Total BW > 500MHz

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Physical Layer for Various Wireless
Applications (3 of 3)
• UWB Advantages
– Low power consumption
– Low cost: Nearly “all digital” with minimal RF electronics
– A low probability of signature detection (noise-like)

• UWB Applications
– Wireless USB
– …

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Datarate
Bandwidth

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Frequency
Wireless Sensor Networks
 Transmission Range
Distance

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Frequency
Wireless Sensor Networks
Examples of Wireless Sensor Networks

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 Constraints of Physical Layer in WSN

• Cost
– Digital Circuits or Analog Circuits?
• Digital circuits get cheaper with technology advance
• Analog circuits are harder to develop with reducing feature size
• It turns out more chip area and power is devoted to the analog
circuits!
→All digital-circuit approach is becoming the preferred method

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Constraints of Physical Layer in WSN

• Power supply & Power consumption

– Power supply is hard to increase
• Battery development cycle

– Power consumption can be reduced by

• Pulsating power
– Charge recovery by small amounts of power consumption.
• Choosing the right communication frequency
• Choosing the distance between WSN Nodes
• Choosing the Modulation/Demodulation method

Wireless Sensor Networks

 Modulation/Demodulation
• For high data rates at low symbol rates
• – m-ary modulation
• m-ary PSK
• m-ary FSK
• – Tradeoffs
• More complex digital and analog circuitry
• Requires a higher Eb/No ratio
• m-ary modulation only efficient when startup time is small

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Wireless Sensor Networks

 Summary of Today’s Lecture

• Communication Schemes
– Propagation Modes
– Fading
– Encoding Schemes
– Spread Spectrum

Wireless Sensor Networks