Powerline Communications: Channel Characterization and Modem Design

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Helsinki University of Technology | Diplomityö
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Date

2006

Major/Subject

Tietoliikennetekniikka

Mcode

S-72

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

73

Series

Abstract

Using powerline as a communication medium has drawn more attention these years. Comparing to the other communication mediums such as twisted pair-cable, Ethernet cables, fibre optic, wireless and satellite, the advantage of using powerline as the transmission medium is that powerline cables are allready installed in each house and connected to the power grids. The network can be accessed anywhere there is an outlet. Building a home network by using existing electrical wiring is easier than trying to run new wires. It is reliable and relatively inexpensive. So PLC brings us a promising landscape for "the last mile" solution. However, power grid was not originally designed for data communication. The powerline channel is usually worse than other wired mediums, due to the multiple, time variable loads and complex topologies. Previous studies have indicated that the powerline channel is a multipath, frequency sclective fading channel with various types of noise. In order to establish reliable, high-speed data cominunication through powerline, detailed studies on cable characteristics, powerline channel properties and channel modelling are really important. It is also important to study how PLC signal can be efficiently transmitted in the channel, which is the base of PLC modem design. Also, lack of centralized standardization has been one of the major factors delaying the development of powerline communications. This thesis will investigate the physical layer of a typical powerline network in order to study advanced PLC modulation technologies. We propose that the frequency range up to 100 MHz should be considered, since it is potentially applicable for PLC home networking applications by using low power spectral density overlay techniques.

Description

Supervisor

Korhonen, Timo O.

Thesis advisor

Liu, Er

Keywords

powerline communications (PLC), datasähköjärjestelmät, Discrete Multi-Tone Modulation (DMT), DMT-modulaatio, PLC channel measurements, datasähkökanavan mittaukset, PLC channel modeling, datasähkökanavan mallinnus, modem design, datasähkömodeemien suunnittelu

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