Wireless Communication Techniques for Multi-Hop Cellular systems

Multi-hop cellular networks are currently being explored for use in future generation networks. In multi-hop cellular networks, communication is not established directly between the user equipment and the base station. Instead, intermediate devices act as repeaters between the base station and user equipment. Using multiple hops in a cellular system is one way to decrease the total required transmission power and possibly reduce interference and coverage problems. Reducing the transmission power may also be beneficial for health reasons. In order to be successfully deployed, multi-hop cellular systems require some enabling technologies. Firstly, mobile terminals providing the basic functionality in an efficient manner must be deployed. This will call for new architectural solutions since the requirements are drastically different from conventional cellular systems. This project will focus on designing power amplifiers which will be a critical component for efficient multi-hop networks.