4 Multi Carrier Signals

WinIQSIM offers two features for creating multi-carrier signals, i.e. setups consisting of several
(modulated or unmodulated) signals spreaded over different frequencies around an RF carrier. With the
Multi Carrier system the user can combine modulated carriers of one single modulation type (and
additional unmodulated carriers). This system is especially designed for scenarios with TDMA systems,
e.g. many NADC carriers with definite frequency separation.

With the Multi Carrier mixed system signals consisting of several CDMA or WCDMA carriers or
carriers of different modulation types can be built. First one creates the several single carriers and then
one mixes them together. Both methods of generation are described in this chapter. A basic explanation
of the properties and the special problems of multi carrier signals is presented, followed by practical
applications.

4.1 Multi carrier scenarios in frequency and time domain

First, this chapter must derive some general properties of multi carrier signals and discuss their
relevance to signal generation in an arbitrary waveform generator. This will require at least a small
portion of mathematics. However, as in chapter 2 we will restrict ourselves and only outline the basic
arguments.

What do we call a multi carrier scenario? A typical one is sketched in Fig. 4-1. In this chapter
calculations will be done in the baseband regime, so the axis of ordinates denotes the position of the RF
carrier.

Consider an arbitrary modulated baseband signal s(t) with a frequency spectrum S(f). We assume
baseband filtering so that s(t) is continuous and S(f) has a limited width of approximately the symbol rate
fsym. The spectrum S(f) gives the shape of the carrier due to the modulation and will be referred to as
modulation spectrum.

We start by regarding a very simple scenario with two (identical) modulated carriers, placed
symmetrically at +/- foff around the y-axis. The frequency spacing 2 f off between the carriers shall be
much bigger than the symbol rate f sym of the modulation 8. Such a scenario can easily be composed by
copying S(f) onto the required positions on the f-axis. This is done by convoluting S(f) with Dirac delta
functions (f+ foff) and (f- foff). The entire signal in frequency domain is then

Z( f ) S( f ) ( f  f off)  (f f off ) Eq. 4.1

Fourier transformation leads to the signal in time domain. The convolution integral gives a product after
transforming, so

z(t) s(t)  2 cos(2 f off t) Eq. 4.2

8 W e could also skip this condition without damage - and will do so later - but f >> f gives scenarios which can be conveniently drawn in graphic plots.
off sym

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The Fourier transform of the two Dirac functions is just a cosine with angular frequency 2f off. The signal
in time domain z(t) is a product of the modulation s(t) and a factor cos(2fofft) resulting from the carrier
offsets f off which we therefore call offset oscillation.

s ( f + foff ) s ( f - foff )

foff

Toff
s(t)
s(t)*cos(2f off t)
-s(t)

Fig. 4-1: A multi carrier scenario in frequency domain (upper drawing) with two identical carriers,
placed symmetrically to the RF frequency (=origin) and the corresponding time signal
s(t)cos(2fofft) (lower drawing). The spectrum S(f  foff ) of the modulation is related to
the envelope  s(t) of the time signal. The carrier positions, determined by  foff, corresponds
to the period Toff=1/foff of the fast oscillation.

A qualitative graphic representation of this scenario in frequency and time domain is shown in Fig. 4-1
(upper drawing - frequency domain, lower drawing - time domain). This is a good example for
demonstrating that time and frequency domains are reciprocal. In our frequency spectrum the
bandwidth of the carriers is small compared to the carrier spacing. So the carrier shape may be called
the fine structure of the spectrum. On the other hand the carrier configuration (determined by the
parameter foff) is the coarse structure of the scenario. According to the rules mentioned in chapter 2, the
configuration is related to the fine structure of the signal in time domain, represented by the fast
oscillation with period Toff=1/foff - while the carrier shape is related to the rather slow variation in time of
the modulation, becoming the envelope of the entire time signal.

It is now a straightforward procedure to generalize this to a setup of n (different) carriers with offsets
(n)
foff (which can also be negative now). In the frequency domain we get

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n
Z( f )  Si ( f )  ( f f offi ) ) Eq. 4.3
i1

Every multi carrier signal in frequency domain can be described by a sum of carriers, each being a
product of the modulation spectrum and a Dirac function representing a spectral line. The former
determines the shape of the carrier, the latter its position.

Fourier transformation leads to the time-dependent signal

z(t)  si (t)  exp 2if offi) t  

n
Eq. 4.4
i1

Every multi carrier signal in time domain can be described by a superposition of time signals, each
consisting of an envelope factor si(t) due to the modulation and an oscillation term 9.

Now it’s time to investigate the consequences of these properties for the realization in arbitrary
waveform generators.

4.2 The double wraparound problem

Arbitrary waveform generators always use signals of finite length stored in some kind of memory.
Continous output is obtained by repeating the same sequence over and over again. As described in
chapter two, for generating real continuous analog signals, the beginning and end of a stored sequence
must match. Mathematically spoken, we need periodic boundary conditions.

Suppose we have stored a waveform sequence z(t) with length (duration) T seq. Then

!
z(0)  z(Tseq ) Eq. 4.5

In general, there is no chance to obtain a single set of rules to fulfill this condition for all modulation
types and carrier setups. Additionally it would be rather hard finding necessary conditions for boundary
periodicity. We will subdivide the problem instead by introducing conditions both for modulation and
carrier offsets to ensure periodicity.

If we want to fulfill Eq. 4.5 for any arbitrary set of carrier offsets and modulations this leads necessarily to
periodic boundary conditions for each modulation and offset

!
si (0)  si (Tseq ) 
i 1K n Eq. 4.6a and b
 
!
1  exp 2if (i )
off Tseq

9 If f
off is in the same range as f sym so the carriers overlap, it is hard to tell the two factors from each other, there is no longer a significant envelope. But the mathematical
description stays the same.

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The latter equation gives

f off(i ) Tseq m, m  Eq. 4.7

or

f off(i ) mf seq , m  , f seq  1/ Tseq Eq. 4.8

(i)
As a result of the above relationship, each carrier offset foff must be an integer multiple of the repetition
rate fseq of the sequence. One could also call fseq the frequency resolution of suitable carrier spacings.

The duration of the sequence T seq is given by

Tseq nsym / f sym Eq. 4.9

with the symbol period 1/fsym and the number of symbols (called sequence length) nsym. Therefore

f seq  f sym / nsym Eq. 4.10

and

f off(i ) mf sym / nsym Eq. 4.11

Now we have derived an essential and easy to apply condition for the design of multi carrier signals with
an ARB:

The frequency offset of each carrier has to be an integer multiple of the repetition rate of the stored
sequence, where the repetition rate is given by the symbol rate divided by the number of symbols.

In principle, there is another way to get rid of wraparound jumps - think of an algorithm that smoothes
the waveform at the transition. This method is also provided by WinIQSIM (smoothing panel) and is
useful for wraparound problems due to the modulation type with single carrier signals. It is not suitable
for most multi carrier applications, especially with rather large carrier offsets. In this case the variation of
the signal in time is mostly determined by the offset oscillations. If Eq. 4.11 does not hold, the periodicity
of the oscillations is disturbed at the wraparound. A smoothing algorithm can remove steps at the
wraparound, but the periodicity of the oscillations will still be disturbed. That means, even a smoothed
wraparound is a single event in the signal. This event is repeated periodically and leads again to
unwanted contributions to the frequency spectrum, decreased, but not suppressed by the smoothing
algorithm.

Let’s turn to practice for a moment. Multi carrier setups in WinIQSIM are controlled by four general
parameters: the number of carriers, their relative power, phase and the (general) carrier spacing. So at
the first look the program allows only equally-spaced carriers. Despite this one may achieve settings
with different spacings by turning off some carriers.

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foff f foff f

Df Df Df Df Df

Fig. 4-2: The two different basic multi carrier setups in WinIQSIM. Even numbers of carriers are
distributed symmetrically to the RF frequency (left). Then the carrier spacing is just twice
the offset of the two inner carriers. With odd numbers of carriers the central one is placed
on the RF frequency and the carrier spacing is equal to the offset of the two neighbouring
carriers (right).

In general one has to distinguish between two cases. For settings with even numbers of carriers the
carrier spacing f is just twice the offset of the two inner carriers (see Fig. 4-2) 10. Therefore

f 2m f sym / nsym , even number of carriers Eq. 4.12

With odd numbers of carriers the central carrier is placed at the RF frequency and f is equal to the
frequency offset of the carriers next to the center.

f m f sym / nsym , odd number of carriers Eq. 4.13

To make life easier for the user, WinIQSIM offers a so-called assistant function for the carrier settings.
This function asks for the desired carrier spacing and calculates a value for f nearest to the desired
one according to the rules outlined above. As one may want to turn carriers on and off in some settings
without changing anything else, the assistant doesn’t distinguish between even and odd numbers of
carriers. To avoid confusion, always Eq. 4.12 is taken into account.
The relevance of Eqs. 4-11 and 4-12 can be demonstrated effectively with WinIQSIM itself. Imagine a
signal with two carriers, each modulated with fsym=24.3 kHz. The desired carrier spacing shall be 200
kHz, the sequence length 500 symbols. The assistant function of WinIQSIM calculates the correct
spacing according to Eq. 4-12 (see Fig. 4-3). Fig. 4-4 shows two calculated waveforms with the above
parameters. The upper waveform was calculated with the values suggested by the assistant function
and has a corrrect wraparound. In the second case the assistant was ignored, which results in a
wraparound jump and therefore in a faulty signal.

10 As one can see from Fig. 4-2, the offsets of the outer carriers are all multiples of f . So if Eq. 4.11 holds for the two inner carriers, it is also fulfilled for all others. The
off
situation is similar for odd numbers of carriers except for the missing factor 2 in Eq. 4.13.

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Fig. 4-3: Parameters suggested by the carrier spacing assistant for the example outlined in the text.

Fig. 4-4: If the carrier spacing is chosen according to Eq. 4.12 as suggested by the assistant, the
wraparound is correct (upper figures). Carrier spacings where Eq. 4.12 does not hold result
in faulty signals (lower figures).

Now we have obtained an easy-to-use condition for the carrier offsets. It remains to solve the boundary
(or so-called wraparound) problem for the modulation.

4.3 Solutions for different modulation types

One could go on like in the last section and try to solve the wraparound problem analytically for each
type of modulation. Such a procedure is beyond the scope of this manual. It makes more sense to write
down some empirical conditions for the most important modulations.

(a) BPSK, QPSK, O-QPSK and 8PSK without PSK rotation

Applications are for example CDMA and some satellite systems.

These modulation types are not greatly concerned with the wraparound. The only matter to be taken into
account are the values of some internal parameters in WinIQSIM for calculating the filter response.
These suggest using a sequence length of at least 130 symbols. Keeping this in mind, one shouldn’t get
any wraparound discontinuities with PSK modulations.

As the signal path is a linear system there is no problem with multiple access systems like CDMA. If the
signal of each channel is continuous, so is the sum of all channels.

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(b) QAM modulations

QAM modulations can be treated in the same way as PSK modulations - see case (a).

(c) MSK

The best known application is GSM.

MSK signals have a continuous wraparound if the sequence length is chosen to be a multiple of four.

(d) /4 DQPSK (for NADC, PDC, PHS, TETRA and more)

All differential modulation types are difficult to handle because the signals have a „memory“. That is, a
certain state (signal in a certain time interval (t, t+dt)) depends of the states that occured before t.
Therefore a differential modulated sequence should be calculated, in principle, self-consistently with
keeping the periodic boundary condition Eq. 4.5. This is rather arduous for MC scenarios. What can be
done instead is forcing the system to get back to its initial state at the end of the sequence period. For
/4 DQPSK this works as follows.

(i) Use the WinIQSIM data editor to create a data field of N symbols (= 2N data bits) with any data
you like (maybe PRBS). This sequence starts at a certain IQ state and ends at another one. Generally
the initial and final states will be different 11. See also Fig. 4-5 for the arguments. Now the angular
difference between initial and final state is always a multiple of /4 (45° or 90° or...), no matter what kind
of data is used.

(ii) Build a slot by repeating this data field eight times. This sequence as data source ensures that the
resulting angular difference between initial and final state is always a multiple of 8* /4 = 2The system
always returns to the initial state at the end of the sequence (see Fig. 4-5). This leads to smooth
behaviour at the wraparound.

It is also possible to manage without the data editor. Choose for example PRBS 9 as data source.
This is a sequence of 511 bits. As we have a modulation of order 2 we need 8*2*511 bits = 8*511
symbols = 4088 symbols to return certainly to the initial state 12.

Q Q

final
2x
3x
1x

I I

8x
initial initial
=
final

Fig. 4-5: Angular difference between the initial and final states of a /4 DQPSK modulated sequence
is always a multiple of /4 (left). Repeating the same sequence eight times leads to an
angular difference of n2(right).

11 The final state may be the same as the initial one, but this is the only case without any wraparound problem.
12 The reason for the factor 2 is the following. A PRBS9 sequence is 511 bits long. As 511 is an odd number, you cannot build a complete sequence of QPSK symbols with
it. (This would give 255 and 1/2 symbols.) For a symbol sequence with a complete, unbroken PRBS9 we need therefore the 511 bits twice . Repeating this sequence eight
times gives 8 * 511 = 4088 Symbols.

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(e) PSK modulations with additional PSK rotation

Coming application will be EDGE.

If an additional PSK rotation is applied to the mapping, the situation is in some ways similar to the
differential modulation. PSK rotation allows the mapping constellation for each symbol interval to be
rotated (in the mathematically positive direction) by the selected phase. The rotation parameter can be
set as r/8, r=1..15. The actual angle of rotation depends on the symbol number, at symbol no. k the
angle is kr/8.

In contrast to case (d) neither the data nor the pure PSK modulation cause any problem. Only the
rotation has to be taken into account, and the rotation angle does not depend on the data but only on the
position of the symbol in the sequence. The solution is to prevent the mapping from rotating at the
wraparound, which can be done in the following way.

Assume the sequence length N (in numbers of symbols) is a multiple of 16 (N=m16, m being an
integer). Then the last symbol has the index N-1 and the rotation during the next transition – from
symbol N-1 to symbol 0 – gives an angle of

 
N  r  16  m  r m  r  2 Eq. 4.14
8 8

But a rotation angle that is a multiple of 2 leads to the same result as no rotation at all: the mapping
does not change. So a sequence length being a multiple of 16 ensures a smooth wraparound for all
possible PSK rotation settings in WinIQSIM.

These rules are mostly useful for continuous modulated signals. In general bursted signals do not lead
to wraparound problems as one designs the signal to have zero power at the beginning and the end of a
sequence.

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4.4 Guide to constructing multi-carrier signals

Rule 1:

First solve the modulation wraparound problem for each single carrier. Choose appropriate data and
sequence length. If you are not sure, try first in single carrier mode. Also adjust oversampling and
window function.

Rule 2:

Set carrier spacing according to the condition Eq. 4.12. Use the carrier spacing assistant for this
calculation. If the frequency resolution is not good enough, increase the sequence length. (Be careful to
still fulfill the conditions for modulation wraparound.)

Rule 3:

If you need different data on different carriers, try to use PRBS as the data source and activate the
„different start values for PRBS“ option in the carrier settings panel. Sometimes the resulting
sequence might be too long and lead to more than 4 MSamples memory required. In this case, create
your own - shorter - data sources (up to three) with the data editor. If three different data sources are not
enough for your application, create your own user data files. The multi carrier scenario may then be built
using the Multi Carrier Mixed Signal system.

Rule 4:

To improve signal quality, if needed, adjust oversampling and super oversampling. If the carrier
spacing is larger than the symbol rate and a single carrier with the same modulation is good, increase
super oversampling in the Multi Carrier system. This improves simulation of the offset
oscillations.

Rule 5:

After calculation investigate both the time signal (i(t), q(t)) and the frequency spectrum (graphics and
graphic settings) 13. If the signal quality is low, check rules 1 to 4. If this does not help, try varying one or
more parameters (still according to rules 1 to 4).

Rule 6:

Avoid resampling during transmission with multi carrier scenarios. Choose „no filter“ in the
AMIQ --> Lowpass Filter... menu to switch off automatic resampling according to filter
characteristics. As there exist some fragile relations between the different modulation and sample
parameters in multi carrier setups, use of this function may result in clock spurs in the signals. If you
want to use antialiasing filters with the AMIQ, adjust oversampling, super oversampling and low pass
filters manually or use appropriate external filters.

13 An experimental hint: it may also be useful to investigate the I- and Q-signals coming out of the AMIQ. For this set a trigger impulse near the end of the sequence by
programming one of the markers (see W inIQSIM user manual). The wraparound of the I- and Q-signals may then be examined with an oscilloscope triggered by the marker
output.

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4.5 Example I: Unmodulated Carriers

To get familiar with the multi carrier system of WinIQSIM we start by dealing with some setups
containing only unmodulated carriers (also named CW for continous wave). This is not only a textbook
situation. For example, setups with many CW carrier (40 and more) are used as a „broadband“ source
in amplifier testing.

Eight CW carriers with 240 kHz spacing and varying powers

Let’s design a typical CW multi carrier setup for amplifier testing. To save time we will restrict ourselves
to eight carriers.

Choose the multi carrier option in the system pull down menu. Then open the data source panel
and choose data source type PRBS in the source selection at the top. Set this source to PRBS 9.
Open the carrier settings menu and set the number of carriers to eight.

Configure the channels with the channel definition part in the middle of the panel. For all carriers set
state ON, modulation OFF and data source PRBS. Adjust the powers of the channels in the following
manner.

Channel 0 0.00 dB
1 -30.00 dB
2 -6.00 dB
3 -12.00 dB
4 -40.00 dB
5 -15.00 dB
6 -5.00 dB
7 -21.00 dB

Open the modulation panel and set the modulation type to CW (none). Then set the values for the
symbol rate 14 (10000 1/s) and the sequence length (1000 sym). Filter function and baseband impulse
depend on each other. Either set filter function rect / baseband impulse Dirac or filter function
none / baseband impulse rect. The result is the same in either case. The automatic value for
baseband impulse is Dirac 15. Close the panel by clicking on the OK button.

In the carrier settings window set the super oversampling factor (SOV) to 5. This will allow the
use of the 2.5 Mhz reconstruction filter in the AMIQ. Now let’s deal with the carrier spacing.

To manage the double wraparound problem in a convenient way use the carrier spacing assistant
function of WinIQSIM. The assistant checks symbol rate, sequence length and desired carrier
spacing and calculates the nearest smaller value for the spacing that leads to a smooth wraparound. Of
course you may ignore the assistant and use any desired values for the parameters. But remember that
violation of the rules in section 4.4 is likely to result in spurious signals.

14 In a rigorous point of view a „symbol rate“ makes no sense with an unmodulated carrier. But calculation requires setting the sample rate, which is done in the same way
(fsam = fsym OV) as with modulated carriers. On the other hand one needs to define the duration Tseq of the signal to be created. Tseq is given by Tseq = fsym / nseq with the
sequence length nseq in numbers of symbols.
15 The program uses a BPSK modulation with data source „all zero“ to obtain a constant value of one at I (zero at Q). The appropriate baseband impulse for PSK
modulations is DIRAC.

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Fig. 4-6: Carrier settings window for 8 CW carriers

Open the assistant panel and enter 240 KHz as requested carrier spacing. Press the return key, the
assistant panel should look like this now.

Fig. 4-7: Settings of the assistant panel

Click on the accept button. The values for sequence length, symbol rate and carrier spacing are
adjusted automatically 16.

Open the carrier graph window by clicking on the carrier graph button. The window should look
like this.

16 In this case there is no need for a change of carrier spacing cause the parameters match by chance. See the next example for a worse situation.

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Fig. 4-8: The carrier graph window gives an overview of the multi carrier setup. Unmodulated
carriers are indicated by vertical narrow red bars, modulated ones by green symbolic
spectra. The relative power of the carriers corresponds to the height of the indicators.

Now click on the graphics icon in the icon bar to calculate the signal. Examine the frequency spectrum
(graphic setting FFT magnitude) and the wraparound in time domain (setting I(t), Q(t), show
wraparound option).

Also have a look at the entire I(t), Q(t) sequence. Use the zoom function for a detailed investigation.
You will recognize distinct peaks which repeat periodically. These occur because all carriers start with
the same phase. As the frequencies of the offset oscillations are all multiples of 120 kHz, there are
times when all carriers add up with maximum amplitudes. This results in a high crest factor of the signal.

The crest factor of a multi carrier signal may be reduced significantly with the „minimize crest factor“
option in the carrier settings panel. This function randomizes the start phases of the carrier and in
that way reduces the peak value of the signal. Open the carrier settings panel again and turn on
the „minimize crest factor“ option. Leave the other settings unchanged and do the calculation again.
The signal looks more even now 17.

You may also transmit both waveforms to AMIQ and measure the crest factors, e.g. with an FSE
spectrum analyzer.

4.6 Example II: NADC Multi Carrier

(a) Ten NADC carriers with 120 kHz spacing

As a first example including modulated carriers we want to build up a scenario consisting of ten NADC
modulated carriers. A typical application of such a setup would be testing amplifiers. Using the multi
carrier features of WinIQSIM / AMIQ such tests can be performed with only one RF signal generator.

To approximate real conditions there should be different data on different carriers. In addition, the
intermodulation performance of the signal must be as good as possible.

For the carrier spacing we choose 120 kHz, as required in some test specifications.

To solve this problem we have to deal with the double wraparound problem (due to the modulation and
the offset oscillation). Further we must find a way to use different data on different carriers.

As explained in section 4.3, we ensure a smooth modulation wraparound for /4DQPSK by repeating a
certain sequence eight times. As this sequence may be arbitrarily chosen, we use twice a complete

17 Numeric values of the crest factor may also be drawn out of the menu „AMIQ --> signal statistics and quantization“ or the calculation of the CDF function.

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PRBS 9 sequence (511 symbols). The overall sequence length is therefore 8*511 = 4088 symbols. So
the function „different start values for PRBS“ in the Carrier Settings menu (with data source
PRBS) can be used. This is the easiest way to get different data on the different carriers.

Fixing the sequence length leads to a frequency resolution of the carrier spacing according to the
equation 4.12 (see section 4.2)

With
f sym 24300 s 1

nsym 4088
this gives
f seq 5.9442 s 1

and
df  11.89 s 1

for the frequency resolution df of the carrier spacing (remember the additional factor 2 - see Eq. 4.12).
The nearest suitable value for f is therefore
f  119.9902 kHz
This value is also suggested by the carrier spacing assistant.

Fig. 4-9: Assistant panel for setting the carrier spacing in the NADC ten carrier example

If we wanted to get closer to the desired carrier spacing we could, for instance, increase the sequence
length in the appropriate field of the assistant. However, we accept the indicated settings.

Another subject of concern is the carrier feedthrough of the IQ modulator. If all carriers have an offset
there are generally remains of the RF carrier left. Therefore it’s better to position one of the carriers at
the RF frequency to mask that carrier feedthrough. With an even number of carriers 2n this is done by
using 2n+1 carriers and turning off the last one.

To achieve the required scenario the following settings should be made:

DATA SOURCE --> DATA SOURCE PRBS --> set to PRBS 9

CARRIER SETTINGS --> (see Fig. 4-10)
NO. OF CARRIERS 11
CARRIER SPACING
--> ASSISTANT requested carrier spacing 120 kHz
Symbol Rate 24300 1/s
Sequence Length 4088 sym
Freq res 11.89 Hz
Carrier Spacing 119.9902 kHz
--> ACCEPT ALL

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SUPER OVERSAMPLING 16
DIFFERENT START VALUES FOR PRBS on
CHANNEL 0-9 ON, MOD ON, DATA PRBS, POWER 0.0dB
CHANNEL 10 OFF

MODULATION --> (see Fig. 4-10)

Fig. 4-10: Carrier settings (left) and modulation settings (right) for the 10 NADC carrier setup.

After setting all values, start the calculation of the waveform. This is best done just before lunch
because calculation will take at least half an hour.

Examine the graphics of the created waveform. Use „show wraparound“ in i(t), q(t) to investigate the
wraparound of the signal. If you see any jumps or discontinuities, check if you’ve done every step
correctly and calculate again.

If the signal appears correct, store the waveform file on your computer harddisk and/or transmit it to the
AMIQ. Make sure that in AMIQ --> Lowpass Filter... menu „no filter“ is chosen to avoid
resampling during transmission. Don’t worry about aliasing, the AMIQ 2.5 MHz reconstruction filter may
be used anyway, due to our chosen parameter values the sampling rate is high enough.

Measuring the intermodulation performance of the signal with an FSE spectrum analyzer should lead to
the results shown below. Due to the nonsymmetric carrier distribution (remember: we have 5 carriers on
the left, one at RF frequency and 4 on the right) you may recognize a so-called IQ-image at the position
of the (switched off) eleventh carrier. This is a remainder of the one at the far left side. Such an image
can be suppressed by adding some IQ impairments. This adjustment can be done in the VECTOR
MODULATION menu of the SMIQ. Try out and optimize signal performance.

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Fig. 4-11: FSE screenshot of the ten NADC carrier setup described in this subsection (using the RMS
detector).

(b) Two NADC carriers with 12.15 MHz spacing

The next example is creating two carriers with rather wide carrier spacing. We want to greatly increase
the spacing and achieve still very good signal quality. Therefore we first shorten the sequence. This
decreases the number of samples needed for a multicarrier setup.

As we have only two carriers now, we do not need more than two different data sources. It is not much
work to create these with the data editor. Open the data editor panel and create two data fields of
length 50 symbols, one with PRBS 9, the other with PRBS 11. Continue with building a slot for carrier 0
by stringing together the PRBS 9 data field eight times. Then build a slot for carrier 1 with eight times the
PRBS 11 data field.

Create a frame consisting of slot carrier 0 and store the sequence as a file (e. g. named
NA2C_CAR0.DBI), then the same for carrier 1 (NA2C_CAR1.DBI).

If we don’t change the modulation parameters and use a super oversampling factor of 4 the maximum
possible carrier spacing would be about 24 MHz (which stresses the DAC of the AMIQ somewhat, so
that the intermodulation products begin to raise). As the sequence length is now 400 symbols, the
frequency resolution for the carrier spacing reads 121.5 Hz. A good choice for f is then f = 12.15 MHz.
This provides a setup with wide spacing and still very good signal quality. The carrier settings should
look like this:

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Fig. 4-12 Carrier settings of 2 NADC with 12.15 MHz spacing

Fig. 4-13: Spectrum (FFT magnitude) of the two NADC carrier multi carrier setup described above
(left) and related graphics settings in WinIQSIM (right).

Calculation of the waveform and transmission to AMIQ works in the same way as in the previous
examples. Again make sure that the automatic resampling function for transmission is turned off. An
FSE screenshot of this signal is shown in Fig. 4-14.

Finally we should say a few words about optimizing signal quality. The parameters to play with are in
general oversampling (OV), super oversampling (SOV) and overall sample rate. If the carrier spacing is
large against the modulation frequency - like in these examples - the modulation is the envelope of the
time signal and varies slowly. Then the oversampling factor won’t be very significant for building the fast
oscillation and the recommended values (auto settings in WinIQSIM) should be sufficient in most cases
18. The most important parameters are then SOV and overall clock rate. Higher SOV values give better

looking signals and better signal-to-noise ratios. On the other hand, clock rates near 100 MHz stress the
AMIQ hardware which leads to significant intermodulation products. As general advice, one should stay
below 60 MHz and use maximum SOV inside that range to obtain best intermodulation performance.

18 If the carrier spacing and the carrier bandwidth are nearly equal, the influence of OV and SOV on the entire signal cannot be clearly distinguished.

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For broadband signals (e.g. W-CDMA carriers placed next to each other) where the broadband noise of
the used signal generator might be the most important factor for signal quality, clock rates up to 80-90
MHz will produce satisfactory results.

Fig. 4-14: FSE screenshot of the two NADC carrier setup with 12.15 MHz carrier spacing.

In spite of the numerous feasibilities of the Multi Carrier system, there remains one restriction. It is
not possible to use different modulation settings on different carriers. This restriction applies to different
modulation types on different carriers (for example GSM and NADC) as well as to different burst
structures (varying powerramping). Furthermore, the Multi Carrier system does not support CDMA
and WCDMA because these are systems in their own. For instances like these, the Multi Carrier
Mixed Signal system was designed.

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4.7 Example III: GSM bursted multi carrier using Multi

Carrier Mixed Signal system
As an example for a complex multi carrier scenario we will design two GSM carriers bursting in different
timeslots. The procedure for this is the following. We will create the first carrier and save it in the .IBN
format (save for add / Multi Carrier Mixed Signal function in the File pull down menu), then build
and save the second carrier. The entire scenario is designed in the Multi Carrier Mixed Signal
system.

First step is to create a GSM frame data source for the first carrier. We may use the example files
delivered with WinIQSIM. Open the WinIQSIM setting GSM_SLO1.IQS in the WINIQSIM\EXAMPLES
folder. (This is a setting of the single carrier type.) Then open the data editor panel and load
the configuration file GSM_TSC1.DED. This contains a library of GSM data fields and slots. The frame
setting is a normal burst in timeslot 1, with all other timeslots off. Save this sequence as
GSM_CAR1.DBI and your data editor setting as GSM_CAR1.DED.

Fig. 4-15: Modulation settings for the first GSM carrier

Now create the first GSM carrier: Choose FILE: GSM_CAR1.DBI as data source and check the
modulation settings (see Fig. 4-15).

Calculate the waveform and check for discontinuities, especially at the borders of the bursts. Then save
the waveform using the „save for add / Multi Carrier Mixed Signal“ function in File menu. Name the
waveform GSM_CAR1.IBN and save your setting (for security) as GSM_CAR1.IQS.

Open the data editor again (File GSM_CAR1.DED) and build a new frame by replacing the NOR1
slot with a (grey) 156 dummy slot and putting a NOR5 slot in timeslot 5. Calculate and save this
sequence as GSM_CAR2.DBI (and your data editor setting as GSM_CAR2.DED just in case). 19

Change the data source to FILE: GSM_CAR2.DBI and calculate the waveform. Save the waveform in
the .IBN format (as GSM_CAR2.IBN) and the setting as GSM_2CAR.IQS for reuse.

19 In this case it makes no sense to calculate all data sources in advance, because the powerramping settings are not saved with the file

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Now open a new setting (File --> New...), choose Multi Carrier Mixed Signal as system
and open the Carrier Settings panel. As in the previous examples we want to put one of the
carriers on the RF frequency. Therefore set the number of carriers to three and switch off the first
carrier. Choose the file sources for the carriers: GSM_CAR2.IBN for the second, GSM_CAR1.IBN for
the third carrier. So the signal with the burst in timeslot 5 is on the RF frequency, the signal with burst in
timeslot 1 is placed on the right. The carrier spacing shall be 400 kHz. Choose „longest file wins“ for
the signal duration mode and set the carrier spacing using the carrier spacing assistant (see Fig.
4-16 for the entire carrier settings). Then calculate the waveform.

Fig. 4-16: Carrier settings in Multi Carrier Mixed Signal system for the two GSM carrier example.

The time representation of the resulting signal is shown in Fig. 4-17. Check again for discontinuities in
the signal and transmit the waveform to AMIQ or store it on your computer. Save the setting as
GSM_2CAR_MIX.IQS for reuse.

Fig. 4-17: Time representation of the 2 GSM carrier setup. The first burst is related to carrier 1, the
second one to carrier 2. Carrier 2 has no offset with respect to the RF frequency and
therefore oscillates less quickly.

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Fig. 4-18: Screenshot of the frequency spectrum of the GSM 2 bursted carrier signal, captured with
an FSE spectrum analyzer using MAX HOLD function.

4.8 Example IV: W-CDMA multi carrier using Multi

Carrier Mixed Signal system
As a second example for the Multi Carrier Mixed Signal system we will design a W-CDMA
multi carrier signal. As you need some knowledge about W-CDMA signals, it is essential to study the W-
CDMA part of the WinIQSIM user manual first.

Anyway, our aim in this section is to generate a setup of two W-CDMA carriers with 10 MHz spacing. The
general procedure is similar to the one in the previous section. Generate the two carriers separately with
the W-CDMA system and save the waveforms in .IBN format (Save for add / Multi Carrier Mixed
Signal). Then generate the multi carrier setup using the Multi Carrier Mixed Signal system.

For the carriers we will use two example settings that are delivered with WinIQSIM. You also may
design your own channel and data configuration for each channel. If you need more information to do
this, read chapter 8 of the WinIQSIM user manual.

Let’s create the first carrier. Open the settings file 15DPCHA.IQS in the EXAMPLES\WCDMA folder.
This is a downlink W-CDMA setup with 15 dedicated physical channels. The data in different channels
are not correlated. On the other hand the channels have no data or longcode offset, therefore all
channels contain the same pilot symbols appearing at the same time. This is a setup which leads to a
rather high crest factor. (See WinIQSIM user manual chapter 8 for further explanation.)

Open the W-CDMA configuration panel and change the oversampling factor to 8. This increases the
quality of the modulated single carrier W-CDMA signal. Calculate the CCDF (complementary cumulative
distribution function) by clicking on the CDF Test button. Then calculate the signal and check the
wraparound. Save the signal as WCD_CAR1.IBN (Save for add / Multi Carrier Mixed Signal) and your
setting.

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WINIQSIM

Load the example setting 15DPCHAO.IQS which gives a channel configuration with data offset
and therefore a distinctly smaller crest factor. Again change the oversampling to 8, calculate the
CDF and the waveform. Save the waveform file as WCD_CAR2.IBN and the setting.

Load a new Multi Carrier Mixed Signal setting and open the carrier settings panel.
Set the number of carriers to three and switch off the third one. Then the second carrier is placed
on the RF frequency to mask the IQ feedthrough of the SMIQ I/Q modulator. Choose
WCD_CAR1.IBN and WCD_CAR2.IBN as IQ files for the first two channels. Complete the settings
as shown in Fig. 4-19 and set the carrier spacing using the carrier spacing assistant.

Calculate the CDF and the resulting signal. Don’t forget to save your results.

Fig. 4-19: Carrier settings in Multi Carrier Mixed Signal for the W-CDMA two carrier example.