Radio Fundamentals

This foundational research thrust is aimed at fundamental reconsideration of radio technology to improve agility and flexibility, considering all the key components such as software defined radio (SDR), ultra-low power systems, wideband RF front ends, steerable antennas, embedded microwave photonics, RFICs, and systems with massive numbers of antennas.  Increasing demand for broadband connectivity has ignited significant interest in using mmWave bands for future cellular and multihop smart city wireless networks. These higher-frequency bands provide both challenges and opportunities in terms of reliability, range, and increased data rates. These high frequencies exhibit fast falloff of transmit power relative to frequency coupled with significant outages due to obstacles. Given the rapid variations in channel and network conditions of mmWave systems, dynamic multi-hop routing, converged optical-wireless x-haul networking, channel allocation, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) physical layer techniques are needed to ensure reliable high-rate performance .  Low power wireless and power-transfer uses of radio signals will also be considered.