A digital signal processing approach for modulation quality assessment in WiMAX systems

Modulation quality in WiMAX systems that rely on OFDM modulation is dealt with. A digital signal processing approach is, in particular, proposed, aimed at assessing the performance of transmitters in terms of standard parameters. At present, WiMAX technology deployment is at the very beginning. Also, measurement instrumentation mandated to assist WiMAX apparatuses production and installation is not completely mature, and entitled to be significantly improved in terms of functionality and performance. In particular, no dedicated instrument is already present on the market, but the available solutions are arranged complementing existing hardware, such as real-time spectrum analyzers and vector signal analyzers, with a proper analysis software. Differently from the aforementioned solutions, the proposed approach is independent of the specific hardware platform mandated to the demodulation of the incoming WiMAX signal. It can operate, in fact, with any hardware capable of achieving and delivering the baseband I and Q components of the signal under analysis. Moreover, being open-source it can be improved or upgraded according to future needs.