Capactiy of single-hop communication links in wireless ad hoc networks

Abstract

This thesis defines the capacity of single-hop communication links in wireless ad hoc networks as the transferable data rate over that link determined by the Shannon limit and by the fixed modulation scheme and bit error rate. The resulting capacity formulas are derived under the assumption of r-3.8 path loss and uniform, but random, distribution of users. Rank of the link R is defined and included in the capacity formulas. After defining link capacity, the improvement of capacity is studied when different network components are implemented. These include successive interference cancellation (SIC), and multiple antenna arrays at the transmitting and the receiving end of the link. These strategies are then compared in terms of the dB improvement of capacity that they provide. Network parameter NP is defined in order to characterize spatial reuse in the network, and optimal network parameter is determined for maximizing link capacity in the process of dividing the network single frequency channel into equally sized subchannels.